Lancasire Constabulary is using the New Year to remind local residents that there is a new number to contact the police to talk about non-urgent issues.
Introduced last month, 101 is the new number to ring to report non-emergency crimes or incidents, to discuss anti-social behaviour or to speak to the police about a general enquiry.
101 has replaced the old non-emergency number 0845 1 25 35 45.
Every force in England and Wales has now adopted the new number which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and costs just 15 pence per call, no matter what time of day or the duration of the call.
People who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired can textphone 18001 101.
“Everyone knows to ring 999 in an emergency but until recently there was no single memorable number to call for less urgent issues,” explains Superintendent Damian Darcy from Lancashire Constabulary. “101 has changed all that.
“101 makes it much easier for people to contact their local police service wherever they are in England or Wales. It has made it much simpler for people to pass on information or seek advice from the police and the early indications here in Lancashire are that it has freed up the 999 system.”
The new 101 service is NOT for emergencies. In an emergency, people should always ring 999 for immediate police assistance. An emergency is where:
- Life is in danger
- Violence is being threatened or used
- A crime is in progress or a suspect may have recently been disturbed
- There has been a road traffic accident where people are injured or there has been an accident that has affected traffic.