Source: Bromsgrove Advertiser

http://www.bromsgroveadvertiser.co.uk/news/banewsroundup/display.var.1930075.0.t...

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The number’s up for police
By Pat Smith

A BROMSGROVE councillor is gathering support to urge West Mercia police to drop what he calls "unethical" telephone call charges.

District councillor Sean Shannon (Labour-Charford) said that the present use of 0845 numbers can cost mobile users up to 40p a minute.

"Some people have spent up to £12 reporting a crime. The 03 numbers charge 12p a minute for mobile users - a considerable saving."
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Cllr Shannon added: "Those reporting crime should not be the ones to pay and charging 40p a minute penalises the good citizen and does not encourage people to report crimes. The unethical practice of making money out of those reporting crime should come to an abrupt end."

On January 16 the Labour group will be calling on Bromsgrove District Council to support a campaign to persuade the West Mercia Police Authority to remove 0845 numbers and have them replaced with 03 numbers.

A police spokesman said that officers were currently looking at introducing a new non-emergency telephone number, which would cost the same as making a local call from a landline or mobile phone.

"West Mercia Constabulary's non-emergency telephone number was introduced ten years ago. The cost of calling this number from a landline is around three pence a minute. However, charges from mobile phones do vary depending on the service provider, which unfortunately we cannot influence," said the spokesman She added that the decision to centralise the handling of all emergency and non-emergency calls was taken in 2001 following an extensive review into the way the force handles calls from the public.

All call centre operators are linked to a computerised mapping facility and caller line identification to enable them to pinpoint the location of calls and to respond to an emergency more rapidly. People wishing to contact their local policing officers can do so by emailing them or by calling a local telephone number and leaving a message. The contact details of all the local policing teams are available on the local policing section of the force website at www.westmercia.police.uk

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bazzerfewi wrote on Jan 1^st, 2008 at 6:42am:

The reason they should move to 03 is that they too will be included in the inclusive minutes at standard rates. Being non-geo numbers they can also be switched around to maximise call centre efficiency

Source: Worcester News
Published: Tuesday 29 January 2008

http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/wnnewslatest/display.var.1999900.0.police_co...

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Police consider changing 08 number
By Alicia Kelly

MORE than one million phone calls are received by West Mercia Constabulary every year with phone companies appearing to pocket the majority of the cash generated from them.

Your Worcester News requested information about the 08 number be released under the Freedom of Information Act after councillors said crimes were going unreported because the force's non-emergency 0845 number was too expensive.

The figures reveal from April 2007 to date, the force made £4,491.45 from 653,336 calls, while in 06/07 it made £6,684.76 from 1,129,402 calls.

In 05/06 it made £5,814.79 from 1,134,446 calls.

The force spends the money on an emergency text messaging service for people who are partially or profoundly deaf or who have speech impairments.

A force spokeswoman said: "The cost of calling this number from a BT landline is around 3p a minute.

"However, charges from mobile phones do vary depending on the service provider, which unfortunately we cannot influence or change."

She said the force was considering introducing a new number which would charge users at local call rates whether they call from a landline or a mobile phone. If the force does introduce such a number - known as 03 - it will not receive any revenue from calls.

The decision to centralise the handling of all emergency and non-emergency calls was taken in 2001 to ensure the force made best use of call-handling technology and that all call-handling staff were trained to meet the needs of callers.

Callers of the 08 number reach call management centres at Hindlip, near Worcester, or Bridgnorth in Shropshire, while incidents can also be reported in person at a police station or by calling a local number and leaving a message.

However, Councillor Nigel Knowles, who raised the issue, said he was still opposed to centralised numbers.

He said: "If you've got a group of youths outside your house in Kidderminster you don't really want to be put through to Redditch via Hindlip.

"What you want to be able to do is to speak to your local beat officers and the police on the ground.

"I don't think it's as efficient as it should be if you had local numbers."

A spokeswoman for telecoms regulator Ofcom said Government guidelines say public sector bodies should not use 08 numbers without offering an alternative.

She said the new 03 numbers were ideal for police because all callers pay the same amount and the numbers can be included in mobile phone call packages, while 08 numbers generally are not.

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farci wrote on Jan 29^th, 2008 at 1:16pm:

I believe most providers do allow calls to 03 numbers. Only BT must allow calls to all numbers and all Ofcom can do is create the rules. Ofcom has previously advised that public bodies shouldn't use 084/087 numbers without an alternative (although I can't remember where that has been said).

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7222042.stm

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Last Updated: Friday, 1 February 2008, 14:18 GMT

New line for non-emergency calls

Tayside Police are aiming to cut the amount of minor or needless calls coming through on 999 by introducing a single non-emergency number.

The new 0845 number, to be introduced in April, will replace 16 separate non-emergency ones currently in use.

Police have received 999 calls recently asking when the pizza delivery shop shuts and from someone having trouble opening their car door in the wind.

It is also hoped the new system will provide a better service for callers.

Supt Kenny Sinclair said: "Tayside Police receives in the region of 30,000 non-emergency calls per month, which is averaging about 1,000 calls every day.

"It's important to us that the force is accessible to all these callers because it's very often their first time phoning the police."

Ch Insp Sandra Richards added: "Those 30,000 non-emergency calls that we get cover a wide range of things, and we try to prioritise the calls where people are actually asking for police assistance because a crime's been committed, or something serious is happening.

"People who phone the police, particularly if they're looking for police assistance, even in non-emergency matters, often find it difficult and distressing and they need to be addressed accurately and quickly."

Ms Richards added that people often phoned 999 because it was the first number that entered their head when thinking about the police.

However, she also blamed the rise in mobile phones and the fact 999 is a number which can be called for free if you do not have credit.

The new number will begin with 0845 and when people call they will be asked to choose from a menu of services.

Supt Sinclair said: "If you phone it [999] casually in inappropriate circumstances, you could potentially be affecting a life elsewhere, where somebody does need to get through in an emergency and can't get through."

In a genuine emergency people should continue to call 999.

Tayside Police have said that this could be the first step towards a single new non-emergency number being introduced across Scotland.

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Quote:

This statement goes to prove that they are actively going out to deter people from calling.

Source: Surrey Advertiser
Published: 1 February 2008

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/2021235_police_may_drop_0845_phone_number

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Police may drop 0845 phone number

Surrey Police could scrap its 0845 contact centre number for non-emergencies in favour of a cheaper alternative.

The force is considering a number of options to replace the prefix, which is now more expensive than all local and most long-distance national calls.

Surrey residents have been dialling 0845 125 2222 since 2003, when many public sector organisations switched to centralised call centres.

At that time the numbers were charged at the local rate, but while the cost of national calls has fallen in recent years charges for 0845 calls have stayed the same.

The cost of calling the code from a BT landline is about 3p a minute.

Most mobile phone networks do not include calls to 0845 in their all-inclusive packages and customers can pay up to 40p a minute.

Geographic number

The possibility of Surrey Police changing its number was laid out in a letter seen by the Surrey Advertiser, which was sent by the force to campaigner Dave Lindsay.

He has written to every police force in England, Wales and Scotland, warning that the cost of dialling the 0845 prefix could put people off calling the police.

Mr Lindsay said 27 out of 44 forces were still using the code.

Now he is calling for the introduction of a local 01483 number to dial the Surrey Police contact centre, which is based at Mount Browne headquarters in Guildford.

In the letter sent to Mr Lindsay, contact centre operations manager Stuart Lowe said it was one of a number of options being considered in an attempt to lower the cost of calling the police.

'Very positive'

But Mr Lowe said migrating to the geographic number would involve a re-arrangement of the way calls were routed, and would have cost implications which would not attract any government funding.

The force is also looking at changing the number to a new 0345 code, which would cost no more than a normal UK call.

Mr Lowe said in his letter: "it is critical that any change is part of a well thought-out process that does not leave the people of Surrey confused or ignorant of any new number we  procure."

He added that Surrey Police did not raise any revenue from the use of the 0845 prefix, and that the force had no control over what mobile operators charged to call the contact centre.

Mr Lindsay said: “I thought the response from Surrey was very positive. It’s good that they are looking at what alternatives there might be.

“Changing these contact telephone numbers is not an easy step, but if that’s what is needed then that’s what we have to do.”

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