loddon wrote on Jul 5^th, 2011 at 7:56am:

allegro wrote on Jul 5^th, 2011 at 8:04am:

... and many other individual announcements from the Met, Hertfordshire, Essex et al, along with an update on the Home Office website that only reflects the price change.

After some research I have established the current position.

Some forces have switched on the 101 service in the last few days. I understand that there will be announcements and further website updates next week and in time to come.

I understand that the 15p per call charge has been agreed with the vast majority of landline and mobile call service providers. Those managing the scheme will be keen to hear reports of any deviations from this principle. This is very important, so that the operators in question can be put under pressure to fall in line (or exposed as charging a premium for contacting the police) and that confidence in call cost announcements can be maintained. (The Home Office website - accessed through DirectGov - will be updated next week and the reference to the 15p relating only to BT will be corrected.)


There is a clear plan, being driven by ACPO, which will lead to all geographically focussed Police forces in England using 101 by the end of the year. More information will be published over time.

A - The following 7 forces are now operating 101 as their non-emergency contact number:

City of London Police (via the call centre operated by the Met), Essex Police, Hampshire Constabulary, Hertfordshire Constabulary, Metropolitan Police Service, Surrey Police, Sussex Police (adoption not yet announced).

B - The following 10 forces are using a geographic number as their non-emergency contact number:

Bedfordshire Police, Cleveland Police, Dorset Police, Greater Manchester Police, Kent Police, Leicestershire Constabulary, Merseyside Police, South Yorkshire Police*, Suffolk Constabulary, Warwickshire Police.

C - The following 10 forces are using a 03 number as their non-emergency contact number:

Cambridgeshire Constabulary, Derbyshire Constabulary, Durham Constabulary, Lincolnshire Police, Northamptonshire Police, Northumbria Police, Nottinghamshire Police, Staffordshire Police, West Mercia Police, West Midlands Police.

D - The following 12 forces are using a 0845 number as their non-emergency contact number:

Avon and Somerset Constabulary, Cheshire Constabulary, Cumbria Constabulary, Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, Gloucestershire Constabulary, Humberside Police, Lancashire Constabulary, Norfolk Constabulary, North Yorkshire Police, Thames Valley Police, West Yorkshire Police, Wiltshire Constabulary.

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* In Sheffield, calls to some local authority anti-social behaviour services are also handled by 101. This service is intended to remain in place when South Yorkshire Police moves over to 101.

The original concept for 101 was that it would operate as it does in Sheffield (part of the South Yorkshire Police area) across the whole of England and Wales. There are many matters, e.g. car alarms sounding continually, which are thought of as crime, but are actually not matters for the Police. The idea was that 101 would be the number to call without having to be aware of which agency was responsible and to provide 24 hour telephone reporting access for all areas.

Hampshire Police acts as a forwarding agency for receipt of reports that are simply passed on to the respective local authority. Forces will be encouraged to develop appropriate partnership working with local authorities, however there is no longer a general specification that 101 is for anything more than contacting the local Police.

(There is a parallel here with 111, where the original concept was that it would be operated by partnerships of PCTs and local authorities providing care services, so that urgent requests for both Health and Social Care could be made to a single number. This is not a feature of the 111 pilots, however the emphasis on "urgent only" also seems to have been dropped. Given that local health care responsibilities are now being split into 3 different agencies, it is not clear who will be commissioning and controlling the 111 service. Furthermore, the issue of integration of Health Care and Social Care is still being discussed, even though a further radical re-organisation of the NHS would be required to bring this about.)

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Returning to the point ...

I intend to press for all forces to retain a geographic, or 03, number when moving to 101. This offers two clear benefits:

1. It enables those who have a call inclusive package to save themselves 15p when calling.

2. It enables direct calls to be made from outside the force area, including from overseas.

Where geographic or 03 numbers are already in use, these could be retained. For those with 0845 numbers, they will have to adopt a long term alternative as well as retaining the 0845 number for the period of transition.


I believe that with a geographic rate alternative available for use by those with such calls "free of charge" to them, even if this number is not advertised with the same prominence as 101, most reasoned objections to the basis of a universal fixed charge per call are addressed.

The handling cost per call is estimated at around £30, so 15p is a relatively modest contribution from the caller, rather than the tax-payer. For those who pay their provider for calls to geographic rate numbers, at up to 25p per minute, or with a setup fee of 10p or more, 15p per call cannot be seen as an imposition. If tax-payers would rather meet the full cost, it is for them to say so.

Story from the Wiltshire Times:

New non-emergency number set to answer criticism

I understand, from a chat with a helpful assistant on the 0845 number (called via BT), that 101 is working in Sussex.

Each area is making its own decision about when to do the major publicity campaign that is required. Sussex has decided to wait and will be doing this towards the end of the year - no date has been set. This may mean that it will benefit from the national publicity which will accompany the last of the areas moving over.

Apparently there is concern about this change not being welcomed by some and a determination to ensure that the systems have been properly tested before the launch.

I can guess that cynics may suggest that the delay has something to do with the revenue share. My own suspicion is that both the 0845 and the 101 numbers are themselves cost-neutral for Sussex Police - all of their costs are in staffing and operating the call centre.


I have been assured that the geographic alternative - (0 / +44) 1273 475432 will be retained alongside 101. This will provide an option for those who do not wish to pay their fair share towards the cost of the service.

@ Heinz,

feedback submitted to Police.uk pointing out they have NOT included the 01273 number for Sussex, having included it for other regions!

derrick wrote on Sep 22^nd, 2011 at 2:02pm:

A good point.

The issue is however that we accept each individual being responsible for their part of the cost of accessing public services, that is paid to a third party which they engage: e.g. transport to visit a public building, a computer and internet connection for on-line access to public services and the basic cost of a telephone call. (Special arrangements are made for those who may have particular problems, but in general we accept our personal responsibility to meet these costs.)

Because a special number is being used, a special tariff has to be set for 101. It was decided to set this at a level where the cost would be equal for all callers. I sincerely hope that the level of 15p per call is intended to only reimburse the call originators, not to offset the cost of providing the service.

The cost of providing the service should properly fall mostly on local taxpayers, through the policing precept, although I understand that the Home Office may be underwriting the 15p per call arrangement, using money from central taxation.


A different decision was made for 111. In this case the (central) taxpayer pays the third party costs that would normally fall on the person accessing the service. Given that this will probably have to come out of the budgets provided to the GP-led CCGs, as part of the running costs of 111 which I fear may be seen as unduly high, I foresee problems. The extensive involvement of the NHS Direct NHS Trust (not a favourite amongst the GP community and not known for its sense of economy) will not help. Political considerations may however preclude the possibility of re-visiting the funding decision for the number.

Dave wrote on Oct 24^th, 2011 at 3:12pm:

I love the way they publish everyone's private email address on that page. 

Sussex police will now switch to a 101 number on November 1st

15 pence a call


http://www.wscountytimes.co.uk/news/local/sussex_police_to_switch_non_emergency_...