SAYNOTO0870.COM - The police don't seem to know their own numbers...

Ian G

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The police don't seem to know their own numbers...
Mar 20^th, 2014 at 10:29pm

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

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« Last Edit: Mar 20^th, 2014 at 10:32pm by Ian G »

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bigjohn Supreme Member Offline Posts: 2,316 Gender:	Re: The police don't seem to know their own numbers... Reply #1 - Mar 21^st, 2014 at 4:16am 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_pol... where 0845 was mentioned. I noticed recently Police Scotland were mentioning 0845 a lot.
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Ian G

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Re: The police don't seem to know their own numbers...
Reply #2 - 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.

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Ian G Senior Member Offline Posts: 276 Gender:	Re: The police don't seem to know their own numbers... Reply #3 - Mar 21^st, 2014 at 12:15pm I have alerted CrimeStoppers to the fact their number is being misquoted and they are now on the case.
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kasg Senior Member Offline Posts: 320 West Sussex Gender:	Re: The police don't seem to know their own numbers... Reply #4 - Mar 21^st, 2014 at 4:17pm 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.
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bigjohn

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Re: The police don't seem to know their own numbers...
Reply #5 - Mar 21^st, 2014 at 7:15pm

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-stat...

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« Last Edit: Mar 21^st, 2014 at 7:17pm by bigjohn »

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bigjohn

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Re: The police don't seem to know their own numbers...
Reply #6 - Mar 21^st, 2014 at 7:25pm

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.

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« Last Edit: Mar 21^st, 2014 at 7:29pm by bigjohn »

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Dont call me

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Re: The police don't seem to know their own numbers...
Reply #7 - May 8^th, 2014 at 5:18pm

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.

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Ian G

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Re: The police don't seem to know their own numbers...
Reply #8 - May 8^th, 2014 at 6:01pm

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.

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« Last Edit: May 8^th, 2014 at 6:41pm by Ian G »

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