I e-mailed Wiltshire Constabulary:
Quote:Apart from alienating your public because calls cost more than two and a half times as much as a call to an ordinary (01 or 02) number, I think you have failed to realise the wider implications of using 0870 numbers - see the below link (the link was to this thread so the're no point leaving it in here).
and received a reply:
Quote:Thank you for your feedback regarding our appeal regarding the murder of Hayley Richards, of Trowbridge, Wiltshire. We have subsequently placed another press release on our website noting that Mr Quintas has been arrested in Spain. We have withdrawn the appeal requesting information on 'the whereabouts of ...' and the relevant telephone numbers in the light of this fact. I am however concerned regarding the comments you make regarding charging/costing mechanisms.
I am looking into the background of using that specific telephone number and should know more tomorrow.
However, Wiltshire Police is part of a national mutual aid arrangement with a number of other Forces which utilises this number to deal with situations where there are vast numbers of calls, potentially from a wide number of sources. You will also find other telephone numbers prominently shown within our releases and on our correspondence and publicity literature as well as our
website are several other telephone numbers, including the standard 01380 735 735, 999 for emergencies, and the Crimestoppers telephone number (which is an 0800 number and generally free of charge to the caller when a standard landline is used (not a mobile). You will see the Crimestoppers telephone number displayed at several points within the release if you have saved it within your files. The whole issue of telephone numbers for the Police Service nationally, and for individual Forces is under review and regularly discussed to find the best options in order to carry out our business effectively and efficiently, and you will find more information about this in several of the recent Government White Papers, including a very recent one on Contact Management, and another one on Neighbourhood Policing. The Home Office website is a good starting point for this.
I hope the above information assists.
Elizabeth Marginson
PR Manager