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Police introduce charges for non-emergency calls (Read 405,805 times)
NGMsGhost
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Re: Police introduce charges for non-emergency cal
Reply #270 - Sep 16th, 2009 at 2:02am
 
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4. Copies of any internal or external documents, emails, faxes memos or notes of meetings that that reveal whether some Surrey residents who needed to make a non emergency call to the force were unable to do so at all whilst overseas because a considerable number of overseas communications networks completely bar calls to the UK 0845 number range due to the much higher termination costs of those calls faced by the overseas telephone networks compared to UK 01/02/03 numbers.  The applicant envisages many circumstances when a caller who is overseas might need to contact Surrey Police from abroad including if their UK home is burgled or vandalised or suffers fire or flood damage or if their car is stolen and then abandoned or if one of their relatives is attacked or murdered or needs to be reported as a missing person while they are out of the country.  The applicant finds it shocking that Surrey Police's apparent non acceptance of reality on the question of 0845 numbers leads to it still refusing to publish a geographic alternative (starting 01 or 02) to its 0845 number on its website or in other official documents, even though such an alternative (the Surrey Police main switchboard number of 01483 571212 which can and does connect calls to the contact centre) does exist and is published on the www.saynoto0870.com website and at www.crimestoppers.org.uk  This means that while more resourceful Surrey residents who need to find an alternative to Surrey Police's 0845 125 2222 contact centre number (for instance for use from overseas) can do so other residents simply cannot do so and hence may not be able to contact it.  The Applicant notes that overseas equivalents to the UK 999/112 service will not normally have access to a UK geographic alternative number for Surrey Police.

5. Copies of any internal or external documents, emails, faxes memos or notes of meetings which discuss whether the operational efficiency of Surrey Police's 999/112 emergency calls centre has been impeded or hindered since the introduction of its single number non emergency 0845 contact centre number by an increase in the percentage of calls received by the 999/112 call centre that are evaluated as in fact being non emergency calls, especially where considerable call time has then been taken to persuade the caller that they must instead report the matter on 0845 125 2222.  This should include any documents which reveal whether there is direct or anecdotal evidence that some callers who formerly willingly made non emergency calls to local 01483/01306/01737 etc geographic numbers used by Surrey Police now instead call 999/112 instead of 0845 125 2222 because of the much higher cost of calling the 0845 number than a normal 01/02 number for anyone with a contract mobile phone with bundled minutes or anyone calling from a BT Payphone or anyone on a landline with an inclusive calls package where 01/02/03 numbers are included in that package at the time of day the call is made but 0845 numbers are not.

6. Copies of any internal or external documents, emails, faxes memos or notes of meeting which indicate to what extent, if any, Surrey Police have taken in to account the recommendations made by the Central Office of Information in its Better Practice Guide for Government Contact Centres (Third Edition) to be found at www.coi.gov.uk/documents/gcc-third-edition.pdf  and in Sir David Varney's report - Service Transformation - a better deal for citizens and businesses, a better deal for the taxpayer to be found in Chapter 7 of his report at http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/pbr06_varney_review.pdf in its continued use of an 0845 phone number for the Surrey Police Contact Centre and its decision not to replaces that phone number with an 01, 02 or 03 prefixed phone number.  If you refer to paragraph 3.51 on p35 of the COI's Better Practice Guide for Government Contact Centres (p36 of the PDF file) onwards you will see that there is a large amount of material there that is relevant with respect to the use of Surrey Police's 0845 Contact Centre number and in particular the question of affordability of use by all individuals who have reason to contact Surrey Police by telephone. Similarly if you refer to paragraph 3.51 on p35 of the guide (p36 of the PDF file) of the COI's Better Practice Guide for Government Contact Centres onwards you will see that there is a large amount of material there that is relevant with respect to the use of the 0845 number by Surrey Police's Contact Centre and why your use of 0845 is likely to impose arbitrary and excessive costs on many callers, including the poorest members of society who often do not have access to a landline phone and instead use Pay As You Go mobile phones.


Continued/.................
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« Last Edit: Sep 16th, 2009 at 2:03am by NGMsGhost »  

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Re: Police introduce charges for non-emergency cal
Reply #271 - Sep 16th, 2009 at 2:04am
 
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The applicant is aware of a potential ceiling on the cost of fulfilling his Freedom of Information Act request and therefore believes that Surrey Police should concentrate first on providing him with copies of all readily available existing documents and faxes, emails, memos and copies of minutes of meetings within Surrey Police and/or with or at its external suppliers and contractors that contain the relevant information and only if that information does not already exist in such documents should an attempt to freshly source the information be made.  The applicant is more than happy to discuss with members of Surrey Police's FOI team a range of different strategies for providing the information that will ensure that the costs of providing the information are kept within the financial maximums for meeting an FOI request without the applicant being required to pay a charge to cover the cost of preparing the information.

I look forward to hearing from you with the results of this FOI request in due course.
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Re: New Nottinghamshire Police number - 0300 300 9
Reply #272 - Sep 17th, 2009 at 10:06pm
 
Dave wrote on Aug 28th, 2009 at 5:54pm:
Following public consultation and advice from OFCOM, Nottinghamshire Police are launching a new non-emergency contact number in the autumn.

From the beginning of September 2009, all non emergency telephone numbers will be replaced with one single number - 0300 300 99 99


Unfortunately it seems that Surrey Police are still not interested in the views of either the general public or Ofcom regarding its continued use of an 0845 number.

Perhaps this is the same lack of care that led to Surrey Police also charging the public more for their element of the council tax than they were legally allowed to thus causing them to now have to refund every single Council Tax payer in the county Shocked Angry Cry
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« Last Edit: Sep 17th, 2009 at 10:09pm by NGMsGhost »  

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Grampian Police - No 0845 Alternative At All?
Reply #273 - Sep 25th, 2009 at 10:16am
 
Reading through this thread again it would appear that the only three Police forces in the UK who still use 0845 for their non emergency contact centre number and that are officially refusing to provide a geographic alternative number in response to an FOI request are Avon & Somerset, Grampian and West Midlands Police forces.  However when one consults the alternatives database on this website there are either verified or unverified alternatives listed for both Avon & Somerset and West Midlands police forces.

Am I right in thinking that this seems to leave Grampian Police as the only Police force in the UK for which there is no actual 0845 geographic alternative number available at all, even via this website?

I did come across this 17th November 2003 list of contact phone numbers for Police forces at www.scottish.police.uk/main/www/forces/ but having tried the old geographic number listed for Grampian listed there I sadly find that this plays a message telling me to redial the 0845 number. Shocked Angry

So if anyone working for Grampian Police who suports the aims and objectives of this website and is aware of a geographic alternative number that reaches Grampian Police's 0845 Non Emergency contact centre is reading this thread then can they please add it the database at www.saynoto0870.com/search.php

Also for those of you, such as Dave and SilentCallsVictim, who I know spend considerable amounts of your free time getting articles in to the local press this seems to suggest that you should focus your efforts most strongly of all on Grampian Police by trying to persuade local journalists to print an article to the effect that Grampian Police is the only Police force in the United Kingdon for which even the www.saynoto0870.com website has not been able to obtain a geographic alternative number.  I 'm sure an editor might think that such a thing was newsworthy in a quiet week for news.

Coming back to the wider problem though whilst several other forces, like Surrey Police and Hertfordshire Police, may well have provided a geographic alternative number in response to an FOI request they have actively resisted all other attempts to perusade them to list a geographic alternative number on their own website or in any other pubicly accessible reference source or document. Thus while they are clearly not in total denial of the problem as Grampian is they still refuse to do anything at all about it.  I know from conversations I have had with the Surrey Police's contact centre managers over several years that they are well aware of the problem but still they fail to take any action to address the issue. Shocked Angry
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« Last Edit: Sep 25th, 2009 at 10:20am by NGMsGhost »  

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Avon & Somerset - Also no 0845 Alternative
Reply #274 - Sep 25th, 2009 at 10:57am
 
Actually on testing this further I find that the unverified geographic number listed by this website (and at the rather wonderful www.crimestoppers.org.uk website) for Avon & Somerset Police of 0117 962 3110 is no longer being answered (an all too typical tactic of 0845 at all costs call centre management obsessives) but eventually goes to unobtainable after ringing it for a couple of minutes and the same thing happens if one calls 01275 818181 listed at www.scottish.police.uk/main/www/forces/avon_som.html.  By contrast the geographic alternative number listed for West Midlands Police by the www.saynoto0870.com website works absolutely fine.

Then at www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/contact/by_phone.aspx they even admit that they know there are going to be problems calling their 0845 number from overseas in some cases but still they refuse to list a geographic alternative number Shocked Angry Cry

Quote:
Calling from an overseas telephone network

Within the United Kingdom the Constabulary can be contacted for non-emergencies on 0845 456 7000. Subject to any limitations imposed by the overseas telephone network you can also call from abroad. You should consult the local telephone company's dialling instructions. In most cases you will be able to dial the international code for the United Kingdom followed by the number but with the leading zero discarded i.e. +44 845 456 7000. If you still have difficulty please consult the international operator for advice.


So the two UK Police forces who are actively holding out on offering any geographic alternative phone number at all, to even this website, are both Avon & Somerset and Gampian Police forces.  So those who wish to try and get in touch with journalists etc may prefer to concentrate first on Avon & Somerset Police, given the much larger population living in and the much larger budget spent by that particular Police force than by Grampian.
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« Last Edit: Sep 25th, 2009 at 2:28pm by NGMsGhost »  

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Reply #275 - Sep 25th, 2009 at 4:23pm
 
More Googling reveals that Avon and Somerset Constabulary added this response to an FOI from a member of the public about their 0845 number to their website only last Friday (18th September 2009).

See www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/information/foi/QandA_Question.aspx?qid=898

Spookily enough the quite absurd and clearly abusive nature (in terms of the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act 2000) arguments put forward to deny disclosure seem like almost a carbon copy of those advanced by NHS Direct to deny disclosure of a geographic phone number and I note that Avon & Someset Police have the same telecoms supplier for their 0845 number as NHS Direct (BT Global).  All they seem to have done is substitute the concept of endangering law & order for the health & welfare  of patients. Shocked Angry Cry

Quote:
Question (Added 18th September 2009)

Arising from the report in Private Eye, and your refusal reported on http://poltel.slough.info (as inserted below), please explain how it is – apparently as a unique exception to the normal arrangement (such as an 0845 number I operate) – that your 0845 number is not linked to a geographic number.

In my experience, calls to 0845 are received in exactly the same way as, and indeed they are indistinguishable from, calls to the geographic number. The only difference is that the caller dialling 0845 pays for the privilege (and you may well get a rake-off) whereas many callers have contracts under which they would have no call charge to a geographic number.

I think your refusal is based on a misunderstanding. Hence I ask under the FOI: what is the geographic number linked to 0845 456 7000, or if none, under what arrangement is this achieved?
           
Answer      

Further to previous responses provided under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the statement published on the following website: http://poltel.slough.info , I can confirm that as previously stated, other than the published 0845 456 7000 number there is no specific 'geographic' telephone number available to receive non-emergency calls.

As you have correctly pointed out that there must be a geographic number linked to the Constabularys' published 0845 number, I can confirm that this is the case and in fact there are more than one. However, I am still not at liberty to disclose any of these numbers as to do so would attract several exemptions; S36 -Prejudice to effective control of Public Affairs and S31 -Law Enforcement. They both require a Public Interest Test to be carried out (Harm Test also required for S31), in order to ascertain if the information should be disclosed or with-held. This test is provided towards the end of this e-mail.

In order to provide some background as to why the Constabulary use an 0845 number and to put this into context, I have detailed the specific reasons below for your information.

The Constabulary currently routes its 0845 456 7000 number via several geographical numbers into the Constabulary.
This approach has been specifically designed in order to ensure that both the Constabulary, and importantly the public, are provided resilience in the case of exchange failures and technical faults in the telephony system;
Sat 'between' the 0845 number and the 'geographical' numbers are certain operational functions that form a core part of managing telephony into the organisation including:

Warning that calls may be recorded - this is identified as a requirement for those organisations where they record telephone calls - it is particularly important as a police service as it relates to our integrity and openness;

3 way switch - this allows us to manage incoming telephone calls and provide a briefing message e.g. "if you are calling to advise us about the accident at Junction 19 Northbound on the M5, we are already aware and units are in attendance". The switch also enables us to set up telephony into incident rooms e.g. for a murder, and importantly allows us to reroute the calls if the incident room is unable to answer the call; this is important when dealing with witness appeals etc.

IVR - the system that allows us to control the 'Press 1 for….., Press 2 for…. etc. At the moment we use this process to divert all those calls where they know the exchange or person they wish to speak to; this can amount to 25% of the calls received. This issue however is not just moving these calls on; what this enables us to do as a Constabulary is give greater priority to the remaining call which are more likely to require an operational response. Without this facility our ability to respond appropriately to members of the public needing assistance is hampered. While the 999 line exists for emergency calls our experience shows us that a number of calls come via 0845 456 7000 on a daily basis that are in effect emergencies. By-passing the IVR system impacts negatively on the service we are able to provide and potentially increases risk to callers in need of assistance.

There are limited trunk lines on each geographical number; therefore anything that removes the ability to route calls around these numbers should they become full reduces our operational effectiveness and could prevent the public contacting us when they might otherwise be able to;

Routing around the 0845 number actually removes our resilience and does not provide the public with an effective way to contact us to ensure their call receives the response it deserves.


Continued.............
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« Last Edit: Sep 25th, 2009 at 4:53pm by NGMsGhost »  

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Reply #276 - Sep 25th, 2009 at 4:27pm
 
Note redundant BT "local call" rate argment.

Quote:
In respect of any monies generated as a result of using the 0845 number, I can further confirm that the Avon and Somerset Constabulary non-emergency number is a British Telecom Lo-cal facility. This means that the number can be called from any landline in the UK at the cost of a local call. However, mobile telephone service providers, set their own tariff and it is not possible to influence these charges.

Any monies generated from the 0845 number is donated to the Avon and Somerset Police Community Trust charity, details of which can be found at the following link: http://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/units_and_departments/associations/police_c...

There is a National move towards organisations such as ours changing to the 03 number. However, there is a considerable cost implication to make that change, and more expense to maintain it. It is on the agenda as a possibility when budgets allow.

The information you have requested is exempt by virtue of Section 36 - Prejudice to effective control of public affairs, and Section 31 (1) (a)(b)(c), Law Enforcement. Both are qualified prejudice-based exemptions and as such require a public authority to conduct a public interest test and harm test. Please find these below.

Harm Test

There are concerns associated with the release of this specific information as regards the geographic numbers linked to the Constabularys 0845 number. Law Enforcement could be adversely affected resulting in the ability to prevent or detect crime becoming even more difficult than it already is. The release of this information could result in an adverse effect on response times of officers attending incidents, members of the public encountering difficulties in reporting crime and ultimately put the health and safety of the public at unnecessary risk.

Information will not be disclosed where the current or future law enforcement role of the force may be compromised by the release of that information, i.e., where the prevention/detection of crime, the apprehension/prosecution of offenders or the administration of justice may be hindered as a result of the release of information.

Public Interest Test

Favouring Disclosure:
The reasons why the public interest favours disclosure of the information are:

Accountability

When information disclosed relates directly to the efficiency and effectiveness of the force or its officers; in this case justification as to the use of specific telephone numbers for the public to contact the Constabulary is a matter that the force should hold up to public scrutiny.

Public participation

Disclosure could enhance informed debate and decision-making by the service concerning the use of geographic and/or 0845 telephone numbers.

Use of public funds


When public funds are being spent; there is a public interest in accountability and justification.

Favouring Non-Disclosure:

The reasons why the public interest favours non-disclosing the information are:

Efficient and effective conduct of the Force

Where the current or future law enforcement role of the Force may be compromised by the release of information; in this case release of geographic telephone numbers would lead to a reduction in the level of service able to be offered by the force, reduced response times, increased risk to the general public as a whole.

Public safety

Public safety is of paramount importance and there may be occasions where the release of information impacting on public safety, e.g. emergency contingency plans, may not be in the public interest. Any increase in crime as indicated above has the potential to impact on public safety. Release of this information could potentially cause harm to individuals if crimes were not attended as soon as possible or could not be reported immediately by the public. Public safety is of paramount importance to the policing purpose and although disclosure of the telephone numbers in question would be interesting to the public if released, it is not necessarily in the publics’ interest to release.

Balancing Test


Disclosure of the information will not be in the Publics' interest, will have an adverse affect on law and order and will not provide a true basis for accountability, public participation or the use of public funds.

If there is a risk that the future law enforcement role of the force could be compromised and the publics’ safety put at risk, it cannot be justified that the publics’ interest would be served in releasing this specific information if either of these aspects were to be compromised in any way.


After weighing up the competing interests, therefore, I have determined that the disclosure of the above information would not be in the public interest. I believe the harm considerations and the importance of the factors favouring non-disclosure outweigh those considerations favouring disclosure. My decision, on balance, is that it would therefore not be in the public interest to release this information. In accordance with the Act, this letter represents a Refusal Notice for this specific information.

I trust the above now fully explains the reasons for non-disclosure and the adverse effect this would have on the service currently provided and increased risk to the public as a result.
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« Last Edit: Sep 25th, 2009 at 4:55pm by NGMsGhost »  

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Re: Police introduce charges for non-emergency cal
Reply #277 - Sep 25th, 2009 at 4:56pm
 
NGMsGhost wrote on Sep 25th, 2009 at 4:23pm:
More Googling reveals that Avon and Somerset Constabulary added this response to an FOI from a member of the public about their 0845 number to their website only last Friday (18th September 2009).

See www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/information/foi/QandA_Question.aspx?qid=898

There are undoubtedly points of dispute regarding the applicability of the various FOI exemptions, however that is not the key issue here.

A solid case is made for the use of a non-geographic number. The same case is made by the Met Police, which does not have quite the same argument in respect of a local dialling code. The only argument against use of 03 by Avon and Somerset is that of cost. Avon and Somerset believes that the cost should be met by callers and other BT telephone subscribers, whereas the Met believes that it should be met by Council Tax payers and therefore uses 03.

It is interesting to note that the Avon and Somerset Constabulary has been able to "influence" charges from landlines by prohibiting Virgin Media and others who do not copy the BT "lo-cal" facility from providing landline telephone service within their area. Although unable to "influence" the way in which  mobile telephone service providers recover the money used to subsidise its telephone system (from callers to its number, rather than from callers in general) it nevertheless encourages mobile users to call the number, as reported here.
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« Last Edit: Sep 25th, 2009 at 4:57pm by SilentCallsVictim »  
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Re: Police introduce charges for non-emergency cal
Reply #278 - Sep 25th, 2009 at 5:08pm
 
SilentCallsVictim wrote on Sep 25th, 2009 at 4:56pm:
A solid case is made for the use of a non-geographic number. The same case is made by the Met Police, which does not have quite the same argument in respect of a local dialling code. The only argument against use of 03 by Avon and Somerset is that of cost. Avon and Somerset believes that the cost should be met by callers and other BT telephone subscribers, whereas the Met believes that it should be met by Council Tax payers and therefore uses 03.


Surely ACPO cannot afford for such clear inconsistencies in the public contact facilities offered by the British Police to be allowed to further propagate themselves and it is high time that instead of only wishy washily making recommendations on this subject that ACPO instead insists that its member Police forces must only use phone numbers starting 01, 02 or 03.
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« Last Edit: Sep 25th, 2009 at 6:07pm by NGMsGhost »  

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Re: Police introduce charges for non-emergency cal
Reply #279 - Sep 25th, 2009 at 5:48pm
 
NGMsGhost wrote on Sep 25th, 2009 at 5:08pm:
... insists that its member Police forces must only use phone numbers starting 01, 02 or 03.

The obvious, indeed perhaps the only, person in a position to "insist" on a point like this is the Home Secretary, the man who promised to "end GP call charges".

There are big political arguments about the extent to which each Police Service ("Constabulary", as some prefer) should be independent and locally accountable, rather than directed from Whitehall. I doubt that ACPO would ever wish to go beyond "guidance", as to do so would be to challenge the role of the Police Authorities, the Home Office and the Chief Officers themselves.
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Re: Police introduce charges for non-emergency cal
Reply #280 - Oct 11th, 2009 at 6:01pm
 
I see that Surrey Police's response to a generally different FOI request from my own about their 0845 phone number and the amount of revenue generated by that number has recently been published on their website at https://www.surrey.police.uk/about/FOI_View.asp?ID=966

This shows that revenue is earned on the 0845 number, although the pifffling £2,000 to £3,000 per annum taken from BT Global is obviously very poor value indeed compared to the vast extra charges being paid by callers to Surrey Police on their 0845 number, especially from those calling on mobile phones who have bundled minutes or from a BT Payphone.

Also note that Surrey Police in their response still incredibly try to claim that 0845 is a "local rate" number.  This seems to show the kind of intransigent minds who control decision making over the continued use of the 0845 number by Surrey Police.

I note that the 28 days for response to my FOI request falls due during this week but I suspect that a holding reply is more likely than an actual response given the amount of information I have asked for on how the 0845 number came to be selected, alternative proposals that were put forward, any estimates received for the cost of switching to an 0345 number etc, etc, etc.
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Reply #281 - Oct 11th, 2009 at 8:47pm
 
Source: Met Police: Operation Sterling Prevention Toolkit

http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/docs/operation_sterling_fraud_prevention_adv...

<<

5) Phone Calls and Call Costs.

Unwanted phone calls can be much more than a nuisance and phone calls can cost far more than expected.

Do not assume that a landline number identifies where the phone is. Fraudsters will use call redirect companies to direct calls to other countries or mobile phones.

Call costs vary significantly according to the phone company and whether the call is to a mobile or landline. The important thing is to know what tariff or price plan you are on and the cost of calls.

Most price plans have a number of ‘inclusive’ calls but these are only to numbers beginning 01, 02 and the new 03 non-geographic numbers.

0800 numbers are ‘freephone’ numbers on land lines only - most mobile operators charge your ‘’normal’ rate to call these numbers which can be 50p per minute.

0845, 0870 and other numbers beginning 084 and 087 are ‘revenue sharing’ nongeographic numbers most commonly used by call centres anywhere in the world. The calls can cost as much as 10p per minute, with the company taking a share of the cost.

070 numbers were designated as business numbers allowing calls to connect to people on the move. They are however, used frequently by fraudsters to avoid detection.

Calls to 090 numbers involve a payment, this can be up to £1.50 per minute. Many prize competitions ask for a ‘call back’ on these numbers at great cost to the unwary. The competition may be completely legal.

Check your bills regularly and understand the charges.

Alternative numbers to 0870, 0845 and other non-geographic numbers can be found on the web site: www.saynoto0870.com

Further information can be found at the Phone Pay Plus and OFCOM web sites www.phonepayplus.org.uk www.ofcom.org.uk/consumeradvice

>>
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Reply #282 - Oct 11th, 2009 at 8:58pm
 
So Surrey Police still ignores every single trading standards and ASA guidance going on 084/7 numbers in order to maintain in their latest FOI letter that their 0845 numbers were specially selected for their "local rate" properties whilst the Met suggests that its residents need to visit www.saynoto0870.com in order to avoid being ripped off by the many telecoms scammers in the call centre industry who continue to lie to the public about 0845 number call costs.

It would certainly be interesting to send an FOI to Surrey Police to ask what consideration they are giving to providing advice to the public similar to that issued by the Met in order to ensure their residents are protected against being ripped off by 0845 call centre scam phone numbers. Roll Eyes

By the way do we have any idea who this excellent person is at the Met who has been so instrumental in first their introduction of an 03 non emergency contact number and now in recommending the public to visit this website in order to avoid telecoms scams.
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Reply #283 - Oct 11th, 2009 at 10:52pm
 
Dave wrote on Oct 11th, 2009 at 8:47pm:
Source: Met Police: Operation Sterling Prevention Toolkit

We can forgive the slight error with 0870 in commending the statement that

Quote:
numbers beginning 084 and 087 are ‘revenue sharing’ nongeographic numbers ... with the company taking a share of the cost.


Such statements are commonly qualified by nonsense such as "can be".

Some of us find it difficult to heap praise on the Met, but this operation looks like one that needs our support and encouragement. An indication that the "calls centres around the world" include those of neighbouring forces could provoke an interesting exchange.



~ Edited by Dave: Quote box finished off
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Re: Police introduce charges for non-emergency cal
Reply #284 - Oct 15th, 2009 at 10:24am
 
Another FOI request to West Midlands Police has been published on WhatDoTheyKnow.com:

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/non_emergency_phone_number#incoming-34135

See the attachment:

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/14022/response/34135/attach/5/2606%20PIT.p...

Quote:
Information Requested:

The direct dial number for non-emergency calls to WMP.

Harm

Section 31 (1) (a) (b) (c)

West Midlands Police (WMP) provide a local rate 0845 number for members of the public to contact the police for non-emergencies. Calls to a geographic number would not enter the call handling system. Therefore calls directed at any other number than 0845 may not be processed by the Call Centre. This may result in calls being ‘lost’ or remaining unanswered, or at best there would be a delay.

[…]

Strange because 0121 687 4070 answers exactly the same as the 0845 number. Same ringing tone, same IVR "Thank you for calling West Midlands Police …" etc.  Roll Eyes

West Midlands Police also continues to defy guidance from Trading Standards, Ofcom and other bodies by saying that its 0845 number is "local rate".  Lips Sealed
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« Last Edit: Oct 15th, 2009 at 1:39pm by Dave »  
 
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