Non-emergency police line’s 15p call charge
Thursday 24th November 2011, 10:59AM GMT.
Shropshire victims of crime will have to pay 15p to contact the police on a new non-emergency telephone number.
The charge will be made for all 101 calls including those made in the county by victims and witnesses of ‘minor’ crime.
Chris Ammonds, spokesman for Telford Police, confirmed the charge saying: “It costs 15p on the 101 line per call on a landline or mobile. It doesn’t matter what time of day or how long you are on the phone.”
However some senior officers fear the charge could put people off using the new line, which has been set up for people to report incidents such as car thefts, criminal damage and minor road accidents.
The number is already operating in Wales, the South-West and South-East, parts of the Midlands and in East Anglia, and it will cover all of England by the end of the year.
The Association of Chief Police Officers, which is behind the scheme, says the line has been created for people to report less urgent crime and disorder or when giving tip-offs to the police.
The 15p cost of making the telephone call will go directly to Cable and Wireless who are providing the service. It is thought forces will also pay a further 0.035p per minute for every call received. In 11 forces, 101 will replace premium 0845 numbers which often led to much higher call costs.
However in many others, including London, it will replace a local number or a freephone number.
101 was first introduced by Labour in 2006 but was abandoned after costing £41 million when it had failed to reduce 999 calls.
Two-thirds of calls in pilot areas were marked as ‘not appropriate’ – callers were reported to have asked for details of tourist destinations.
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