to wonder why there are so many...

[KaraStarbuckThrace]

fucking dormant bastards out there.

999 call abuse

I mean FFS, can they not prosecute these cretins?

They bloody well should fine them!

I am a 999 op, and to be honest I agree with you. However, some of the management would not be inclined to agree with us.

It takes a lot for somebody's phone to even be disconnected, I am talking those putting in serious calls saying that somebody is in a burning building, as an example, and even then all it will be is a disconnection. I have never experienced a prosecution.

To be fair, MOST calls that are hoax we root out fairly quickly and no resources are sent, and a lot of them provide us with amusement.

It is a rare situation where resources are kept away from real incidents because of a hoax, and doesn't happen anywhere near as much as these stories would have you believe. We know when we are dealing with time wasters 95% of the time. It is purely a deterrent.

Sierra - thank you for sharing, that is quite reassuring. It must be very frustrating when you do get them, but I guess they can provide a little light relief when you have have had a difficulty call?

Kara, yes they do. I suppose others may not agree but sometimes the dark humour has to creep in or you would end up being affected by every call you take. I work for Fire, so we don't receive anywhere near as many as the Police.

I am a junior manager so sometimes do find myself in charge of our Control Room. I will ALWAYS get phones disconnected when necessary on my watch, just to piss them off more than anything.