101 - do you get a reference number?

[Mrs08]

Someone I know had told me they have contacted the police to "log" an incident.
I asked of they got a reference number to quote or crime number and they said no?
Is that right?

Yes you do

Yeah thought so

Sorry that wasn't helpful. Yes you get a crime reference number

Even if you call 101?

police are pretty lazy with this stuff, i've phone multiple times (i don't live in the best area) and have only received a ref number maybe half of those times

If it isn't offered you need to ask. They make a record of every call - not all calls result in a crime however. Incident number is more common.

All the forces I know use a variation of the number call it is in the day.

Ps. Police are not "pretty lazy" with this stuff. Every single thing they get on 101 and 999 is recorded and logged and quality assured to the n'th degree. Some may not give out the number, I give you that bit.

I've only called 101 once. They were very helpful, gave me a reference number and told me to call 999 quoting this number if person returned. Not sure if the nature of the report makes a difference - mine was harassment from a known, not very nice individual.

You won't get a crime number for your initial call but you should be able to get an incident number

I called today about something and didn't get a number.

@tinseloatcake

Ps. Police are not "pretty lazy" with this stuff. Every single thing they get on 101 and 999 is recorded and logged and quality assured to the n'th degree. Some may not give out the number, I give you that bit.

seems pretty lazy to me to not give it out, not a lot of people (as seen with op) are completely in the loop about police procedures.

They didn't give me a number, or even show up when i called to report my neighbour abusing his girlfriend. Lazy.

In which case you say " the person I spoke to was lazy" ... Not every police officer and police staff member...

I report stuff via 101 and 999 all the time in my work capacity. There is always a log number, although sometimes I have to ask for it rather than it automatically being given.

@tinseloatcake

In which case you say " the person I spoke to was lazy" ... Not every police officer and police staff member...

I'll do one better, *the lazy, disinterested, uncaring people i've dealt with in the police department largely outweigh the positive - but that's not the point of the post. It would be an idea to always ask for a reference number because the majority of staff members, phone operators and officers, tend to be lazy when it comes to things like this, in my experience, and may not provide you with one.

@tinseloatcake

In which case you say " the person I spoke to was lazy" ... Not every police officer and police staff member...

They didn't say "every police officer". Go back and read what was said.

Don't misquote people to justify kicking off at someone because of your personal insecurities.