YP Comment: Police officers over-stretched

These are testing times for the country's Police Service which has had to contend with budget restrictions as well as fundamental changes to its role. Police forces up and down the country are faced with ever growing demands by those they serve and are in the unenviable position of trying to meet these with diminished resources.

It’s an invidious task and one that is made all the more difficult by members of the public who are misusing the 999 system by calling it instead of the non-emergency 101 police number to report minor incidents - simply because they have run out of credit on their mobile phone.

It is a worrying trend identified by the South Yorkshire branch of the Police Federation and is adding to the pressure on the county force’s already over-stretched call centre staff.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

As The Yorkshire Post reported last weekend, there are plans to move between 300 and 500 officers into neighbourhood policing roles in South Yorkshire - as Chief Constable Stephen Watson attempts to build bridges with local communities and repair the force’s tarnished reputation in the wake of a series of past and present controversies.

However, this forward-thinking approach risks being undermined because officers are being forced to deal with trivial matters that aren’t the best use of their time.

Members of the public need to show a modicum of commonsense and only use the free 999 number in an emergency. Equally, for the sake of 15 pence per call, surely the charges for 101 calls can be waived if it allows frontline officers to go about their work uninterrupted.