I regularly see the CrimeStoppers telephone number quoted as 0845 555 111 in various newspaper stories.

The correct number is, of course, 0800 555 111.

I initially attributed the error to sloppy journalism but now realise the mistake appears on a number of police websites!

See: http://www.google.co.uk/search?num=100&q=%220845+555111%22
and: http://www.google.co.uk/search?num=100&q=%220845+555+111%22

Was it not 0845 555 111 before it was 0800 555 111 heres an article going right back to 1996 http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/745718.tattoo_could_be_breakthrough_in_police_hunt/ where 0845 was mentioned.

I noticed recently Police Scotland were mentioning 0845 a lot.

I think 0845 plus 6 digits may originally have been a geographic area code back in the 1980s or earlier.

0845 plus 7 digits non-geographic numbers were introduced in 1997 or 1998. Before that time the 0845 area code had been unused for many years.

Existing 0345 plus 6 digits and 0645 plus 6 digits numbers also gained a digit and moved over to 0845 in 2001.

I have alerted CrimeStoppers to the fact their number is being misquoted and they are now on the case.

bigjohn wrote on Mar 21^st, 2014 at 4:16am:

Was it not 0845 555 111 before it was 0800 555 111

No, it wasn't.

Even Fire Brigades are getting it wrong.

" If anyone has any information about people starting fires deliberately they can report it anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0845 555 111 or by calling Cheshire Police on 101."

http://www.cheshirefire.gov.uk/about-us/local-fire-stations/warrington-fire-station/news#.UyyPcfl_upA

Ian G wrote on Mar 21^st, 2014 at 12:03pm:

I think 0845 plus 6 digits may originally have been a geographic area code back in the 1980s or earlier. 0845 plus 7 digits non-geographic numbers were introduced in 1997 or 1998. Before that time the 0845 area code had been unused for many years. Existing 0345 plus 6 digits and 0645 plus 6 digits numbers also gained a digit and moved over to 0845 in 2001.

My research shows that on Phoneday in 1995, Thirsk nine-digit geographic 0845 numbers were converted to ten digits and moved to the 01845 prefix. The 0845 prefix remained unused until 1996 when it was re-allocated for use by ten-digit 0845 non-geographic numbers.

Please welcome the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to the Pay-to-Help Club ... as an active Neighbourhood Watch member I have been given 101 as the replacement to 0845. No alternative is listed.

Some years ago I contacted PSNI re the 0845 number which worked out very expensive to those on PAYG. The call was accepted but then transferred to the local station, for which a delay of 10-15 minutes was not unusual. Twice I ran up charges of £2 plus while reporting suspicious activity.

I complained to PSNI HQ and was told that the charge was reasonable but they would try to reduce waiting times. From then on I stopped reporting by phone which is  probably more convenient for the police as well as myself.

These days I fume when I hear media reports professing a reduction in crime. Such reports refer to REPORTED crime, and I have a fair idea why many more offences should be added to produce the actual figures.

The previous 0845 number used by PSNI cost 2p to 12p/min (plus 15p connection fee) from a landline and 15p to 41p/min from a mobile, depending on your provider. In a few cases, mostly BT landlines, the call counted towards inclusive call plan minutes.

Calls to the new 101 number are 15p per call, irrespective of the call length. Most of this money goes to the telecoms company running the 101 number. The police do not receive any of it.

If you don't want to pay to call the police non-emergency number and have a call plan with inclusive minutes for calling 01, 02 and 03 numbers on your landline or on your mobile simply use the alternative number listed here:
http://www.police.uk/contact/alternative-non-emergency-numbers/

Correctly formatted, the number is  028  9065 0222  which can also be called as  9065 0222  from any landline within Northern Ireland.