101 - Police non-emergency number
12 July 2011
Police forces across England and Wales are rolling out 101 as the new police non-emergency number - the number to call when you want to contact your local police but when it’s less urgent than 999.
101 will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and will be adopted by every police force in England by early 2012.
Background
The 101 non-emergency number was first piloted in 2006 as a partnership between the police and local authorities. It has continued to operate as a police non-emergency number in Wales, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and Sheffield as a partnership between the police and the local council.
Roll-out
The first phase of forces in the south-east of England (Metropolitan Police Service, City of London Police, Essex, and Hertfordshire Constabulary) are now 'live'. People living in these areas can now call 101 to get through to the police when it's less urgent than 999.
The next stage of the roll-out will be in September, with seven more forces adopting 101 as their non-emergency number. The full roll-out timetable and list of current police non-emergency numbers is available here.
The benefits of 101
101 will:
- Help communities to keep their neighbourhoods safe by giving them one easy way to contact their local police and to report non-emergency crime and disorder.
- Make the police more accessible to their communities, while reducing pressure on the 999 system and helping the police to allocate their resources where they are needed most.
- Assist the police to cut crime by making it easier for the public to pass on information about crimes in their neighbourhoods - allowing the police to take swift action.
- Enable local partners to join up with the police to provide communities with even easier access to a wider range of local services.
Your area
As each force adopts 101, they will be informing the public in their area. To support police forces with their communications, the Home Office has published a range of resources, which includes the toolkit 'Launching the 101 non-emergency number', posters, flyers and leaflets. You can download these resources here. Please contact your police force Communications Team to coordinate any promotion you may wish to do.
For more details about your area see the full roll-out timetable and list of current police non-emergency numbers.
(Article courtesy of the Home Office)
