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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask why you've phoned the police?

311 replies

oneskip · 11/08/2024 09:38

It's given as advice on here all the time but who has ever dialled 999 and was it for something major?

I've called for football fans fighting and letting off flares at cars, so genuine emergency.

OP posts:
Toastcrumbsinsofa · 11/08/2024 12:17

We were driving on the motorway and saw a young man climbing onto an overhead footbridge. I rang 999 (DH was driving) and we saw a police car driving towards the bridge on the opposite side within a minute or two.

ElTortilla · 11/08/2024 12:17

Once for some suspicious activity when a bunch of young men were in a car near my workplace and I thought they may have stolen the car and then another time when a neighbour was clearly having mental health issues. He'd bene intimidating people walking past his house anyway and trying to cause fights, but when he was walking up and down the back alley one night at around midnight shouting he was going to kill someone, I called the police.

I also called the police when the very loud neighbours next door had someone banging hard on the back door and making a right racket. I thought someone was trying to break in and couldn't see as it was so dark. Apparently it was the next door neighbour making the racket. Dicks.

Cherrysoup · 11/08/2024 12:18

When the neighbour punched me in the face for asking him to turn down the music at 3am.

OofAre · 11/08/2024 12:20

Dotto · 11/08/2024 10:53

When I was mugged politely by someone with a massive knife.

How did that go? Did he say "sorry I'm only doing this because I'm poor. I don't want to hurt you"

WetBandits · 11/08/2024 12:21

Have called several times for several reasons, both 999 and 101. Mostly motoring-related having read back over my list!

999:

  1. Someone who switched off their headlights and was weaving about the unlit motorway in the dark, trying to run me off the road and I was frightened for my life.

  2. Someone running down the street wielding a knife.

  3. A flock of escaped sheep in country lanes, just waiting to cause an accident.

  4. A loose dog on the motorway which people were swerving to avoid.

  5. Someone broke in at work.

  6. Someone sitting on the wrong side of the railings on the flyover.

  7. When I was in a taxi that was hit by a clearly very drunk driver.

  8. A really nasty RTA involving a pedestrian.

101:

  1. Hit and run on my car.

  2. Hit and run on someone else’s parked car.

Serencwtch · 11/08/2024 12:23

At least once a week for 999 calls & prob 3-4 non emergency (live chat/report online) at work. Mostly public order, mental health - concern for welfare , theft, assault .

Msmumm · 11/08/2024 12:24

Three times.

  1. Two men in balaclavas in a car at the traffic lights outside our village post office. Call handler wanted to know what offence I thought they had committed. Had they jumped the traffic lights? I pointed out that it was 22 degrees in the middle of June and might be a bit suspicious.
  2. Two people battering another. DH wanted to get out of the car to intervene but I wouldn’t let him.
  3. 5 men in masks at 3am on our driveway. Broke into our neighbours car. Police came very quickly and got them after a chase.
shiverm · 11/08/2024 12:25

999 when I was a YA walking home from a party in the wee hours, I passed a street where someone had set fire to a bin which in turn had set fire to a tree which was near a house. I remember being like wow so this is 999.

Funnily enough, called 111 when I suffered a sudden haemorrhage out of the blue on Halloween (two weeks post op sitting down on the couch to watch hocus pocus). I've been listening to Ali smiths amazing Life Lines on radio 4, and I can't work out why I didn't think loosing huge amounts of blood wasn't 999 worthy.

Boutonnière · 11/08/2024 12:27
  1. ‘Two men in balaclavas in a car at the traffic lights outside our village post office. Call handler wanted to know what offence I thought they had committed. Had they jumped the traffic lights? I pointed out that it was 22 degrees in the middle of June and might be a bit suspicious.’
🤣🤣
NiceCutRoundDomeDormice · 11/08/2024 12:29

Two incidences of suspected domestic violence amongst neighbours (two different sets, sadly).

With the first one I ummed and ahhed about calling as I was always hearing them rowing, but this sounded more serious; like things were being thrown. They convinced the police that they weren’t a couple and were actually just housemates who hadn’t been getting on, and a row had got out of hand. I was very sceptical when the police came downstairs to tell me this… thankfully, they hadn’t realised the police were downstairs in my flat and started up again, so they went straight back up.

With the second one, I knew there were children in the house. The older boy (no more than eight or nine) had taken his little brother out into the front garden and was trying to distract him by pointing at the cars going past. I didn’t hesitate after that. When a child that age knows it’s time to get his younger sibling out of the house, something is very wrong.

Atethehalloweenchocs · 11/08/2024 12:30

Call to the police recently - walking my dogs on a footpath that leads up to a few local villages. A teenage boy walked past looking dazed - one shoe off, clothing disheveled - like he had been in an accident or been attacked. I asked if he was ok, he looked right through me with that not computing look people get sometimes when they are in shock. I lost him (had to stop to pick up poop), so called the non emergency number for advice, and they sent someone to find him. With all the stories about not attending, I was really impressed.

mrshoho · 11/08/2024 12:32

When I came home and tried to get in but the door chain was on inside. Took me a few seconds to realise the house was being burgled and they were in there. The had gone out the back door by the time help arrived.

Also when a neighbour was having a mental health crisis, threatening people in the street.

IDontHateRainbows · 11/08/2024 12:33

I have only called them once when my car broke down on an exit lane from the motorway, no hard shoulder

Oh and at work when a drunk employee stormed off site to drive home. They went to her home address and caught her as she arrived.

Catlord · 11/08/2024 12:45

Police and ambulance. A teenager had been beaten up. They were crap. He was conscious , walking and talking but was covered in blood, especially his poor face and I wanted him checked in case of head injuries

101 but a man had followed me home. I lost him and grabbed a black cab but he was behaving oddly and it took a while to shake him off. He was definitely following me, I'm certain of that. I wanted to give a description and location In case he tried it with someone else

Charley50 · 11/08/2024 13:03

When I stupidly let my son's dad in the house, not realising his psychosis had got worse and he was hearing voices that made him want to kill me and our son. Luckily we escaped, he ran away, but the police found him and he was sectioned.

Sailorchick14 · 11/08/2024 13:03

Had to call 999 as next door was being broken into. Initially thought it was the guy who lived there locked out trying to get in. DH stuck his head out the door and realised it was a guy with a hammer trying to get access. Initially called 101 but then as he couldn't get in he attacked neighbours car and then went round the back and managed to smash his way in so changed to 999. Armed police arrived very quickly, presume as he had a weapon (hammer). Really glad we called as we were in a terraced property and the guy had smashed up all of the interior and then opened all the gas hobs to try and blow the place up!

Iamblossom · 11/08/2024 13:41

When my husbands car got stolen from our driveway in the middle of the night.

When a van driver rammed me up the back on a motorway and didn't stop.

orangeleopard · 11/08/2024 13:48

I’ve never phoned 999, only the non emergency 101 due to my abusive ex over his threats on my life (over messages; if it was in person, it would have been 999).

I listen to a lot of true crime and the saying is ‘see something, say something’, even if you think someone else has contacted the police, please do it yourself as well just incase. If you think something is off and you have a gut feeling, call the police and they will investigate if it is or not. You have nothing to lose than being safe, if things turn out to be nothing then no harm is done - if it’s something you may save someone’s life.

orangeleopard · 11/08/2024 13:49

Charley50 · 11/08/2024 13:03

When I stupidly let my son's dad in the house, not realising his psychosis had got worse and he was hearing voices that made him want to kill me and our son. Luckily we escaped, he ran away, but the police found him and he was sectioned.

That sounds terrifying. I hope you and your son have healed from your trauma and that your son’s dad has got the medical treatment he needed. Wish you the best

LightDrizzle · 11/08/2024 13:51

I really sorry for some of the awful experiences some of you have had.

TurquoiseTortoiseToastyToes · 11/08/2024 13:53

Only once when I worked at a newsagents and got held up at knifepoint (after they left).

tommika · 11/08/2024 13:54

A few times, mostly for traffic accidents but a couple of others

I can’t remember if I called or someone else, but an elderly woman drove straight across the crossroads of a main road. I left one car length of skid mark and hit her car.
‘Luckily’ I pushed her car forward and she also hit the car waiting on the other side of the junction, lucky because she ended up tipped up wedged in the air between our cars, otherwise may have flipped her over into the adjacent field
All services attended
She was cut out by the fire brigade, and I was told later that she was fine but shaken up
I broke ribs (crushed by my seatbelt locking me in place)
The police officer was almost less lucky - I had handed him my car folder for insurance etc, and he arrived at the back door of the ambulance to return it, just in time for me to point out the face at the back window as they were about to reverse out

One crash that I witnessed in front of me left a wheel and suspension flying off and landing just in front of me
While waiting I was stopping and directing traffic to turn around or wait. (It also turned out that a friend was on the opposite end doing the same)
In front of me were car parts spread across the road blocking access to the side road that I was about to rake, and behind me as I turned to leave a bus decided to attempt a multi point turn and blocked that way out getting trapped by roadside bushes and trees, eventually managing to turn by knocking down young trees

The worst was breaking into a friends flat to find her body.
With a paramedic car arriving first, promptly followed by an ambulance then police, the paramedic either took my word or looked enough to see that there was nothing to be done, so kept out at the doorway (preserving any evidence) until the ambulance arrived, then took me away to their car to deal with me for shock
This was on the exit ramp of an urban carriage way, and they had pulled up to the end of it facing the wrong direction (complete with blue flashing lights) just after we got in we were greeted by the screech of brakes & tyres as a car arrived directly in front of us, the paramedic remarked that “they weren’t looking where they’re going”
When the police came to my home for a formal statement they had all the call logs with time points - what seemed to take forever alone was a matter of minutes

A ‘fun’ final one is the body in the bush. (Happy ending) I was at a comicon as a trader with friends. As she pulled out of the exit she was sure that she saw something in the bush, so did a u turn driving back.
I hopped out (and was joined by another trader who had also seen from her van - dressed as Lara Croft Tomb Raider)
There was a body in the bush, laid back with his head tipped backwards.
He was very drunk and passed out, presumably heading to the nearby bus stop but sat down or fallen over.
For a while we had no reaction, unsure of breathing but did manage to get the occasional grunt, with me poking his ears, nose and slaps eventually we got some level of response and finally got him to sit up
We cancelled an ambulance but kept the need for the police - there remained the danger that he was unfit to stand and could fall into the road if not back into the bush
A motorcycle instructor / ex police stopped and agreed to stay until the police arrived
The guy had some mint collectible figures in a bag clutched on his chest - they were no longer mint and a little crushed

Whilst waiting with some signs of life I was trying to deal with him without letting him attempt to stand, and Lara Croft was stood obstructing the view to allow for some dignity of being stared at by traffic

MugofteaandWordle · 11/08/2024 13:54

Called twice.

  1. We heard a domestic dispute with some neighbours over the road, kids screaming and crying and parents hurling abuse at each other. Police arrived within 5 minutes.

  2. my DS who was 2 at the time locked himself in the bathroom of our maisonette - I asked for Police thinking they would break down the door but Fire Service came with specialist equipment as the lock had broken. I was in a state as he was crying.

murasaki · 11/08/2024 13:54

I was working at a university and a student called me as another had texted her saying he was going to commit suicide. She was desperate and didn't have his address, which of course I did on student records. I called police and an ambulance who went to do a welfare check. He ended up getting the help he needed. So proud of the girl for having the thought to phone us.

CrispsAndWines · 11/08/2024 13:57

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