AIBU?
To call the police again
CiaoMay · 22/12/2019 06:31
I was woken up by screaming and a woman shouting help me. Ran straight to my window but couldn't see anything for a while (we live near town and opposite a pub so I'm used to hearing screaming and shouting but this was different). I then saw a woman being grabbed at by a man she was clearly trying to get away from who was saying "please don't be like this" (car was going past at this point) then when the car passed he headbutted her and she fell to the ground. I screamed which made my baby wake up and scream and woke my husband - the woman got up and ran and the guy ran in the opposite direction.
I tried to call the police but the phone wasn't answered. I then called 101 but the phone wasn't answered so I've ended up leaving a crimestoppers report but I can't get back to sleep and can't stop thinking about the poor woman.
Am I being unreasonable?
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TheLittleBrownFox · 22/12/2019 07:01
@NoBlueXmasLightsAllowed oh give her a break. You have no idea how long she stayed on the line for. She's the one that's there; if the people have gone and the immediate threat over, she may have assessed that it was sensible to clear the obviously under too much strain line for more pressing emergencies. Imagine waiting on getting through to an operator for a heart attack, knowing that somebody who saw something awful but that whose immediate danger has passed is blocking the line.
Unescorted · 22/12/2019 07:19
Yes call the police again.
Chances are they will have been picked up on CCTV somewhere, especially if they were in the pub. Even if there is not enough evidence to charge him it will send a message that even if it is really late at night and he thinks no one is about then he is wrong. If that saves one woman from being battered by so dickhead then you have done a very valuable thing. However it may be that she has reported it - in which case your corroborating evidence will be invaluable.
Tetran · 22/12/2019 07:38
Of course sometimes 999 calls aren't answered, it's not right obviously but there's only so many call handlers, and a lot of counties don't have fallback procedures in place. If they are exceptionally busy it's sometimes the case that there's physically no one to answer it.
CiaoMay · 22/12/2019 23:43
Sorry I wasn't clear, initial call was to 999. Reported now via 101 and hopefully it will help if she comes forward. Total call time to 999 was just over 7 minutes. I don't know why I didn't stay on for longer I just felt sick and shaky after what I'd seen, my baby was crying and that felt like an awfully long time so I thought id have more luck calling 101. By that time they had both gone and I wasn't sure if it constituted an emergency (obviously I know someone being assaulted is an emergency but in terms of calling 999 once it's no longer happening, everyone has gone and you have no descriptions or info is it?) or if I was blocking the line for someone else. I started second guessing myself which is why I posted. Sorry all round I suppose I just got myself in a panicky muddle and posted here for reassurance.
HamsterHolder · 23/12/2019 00:00
Regards taking a while to answer 999 unfortunately if you call at a busy time it can take a while to get through. Two reasons for this, underfunding and stupid people calling for utter nonsense which unfortunately is a massive burden we could do without.
RightOnTheEdge · 23/12/2019 00:14
A few years ago I was asleep in bed with my then bf.
Someone got into our ground floor flat and tried to come into the bedroom. My ex threw himself against the bedroom door and they had a shoving match with the door. I was terrified!
I was on the phone to 999 the whole time and no one answered I can't remember exactly what it said but basically we are too busy to answer your call.
Eventually the other person just left so I gave up.
I'm a single mum now and it still haunts me thinking about if it had happened and I'd been alone.
pigsinarow · 23/12/2019 00:17
I have had a 999 call to the police go unanswered twice in a row. It’s horrifically scary, especially as I was calling because I was in danger. I was young when this happened and wish I’d have known how to report it at a later date.
I really hope that woman is ok.
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