Proper use of emergency hotline urged

Police today (July 30) appealed to members of the public to use the 999 hotline service for emergencies only.

In the first half of this year, the number of 999 calls answered by the Police Regional Command and Control Centres was 1 245 196, of which only 445 351 or 36% were genuine calls. Of the total, 799 845 calls or 64% were nuisance or misdialled calls.

The spokesman said that misuse of the emergency hotline would unnecessarily engage operators of control centres and delay the handling of genuine emergencies.

"Any abuse of the service will not only affect the efficiency of the Police in handling emergency situations, it could endanger the lives of people at risk by postponing their access to the service," he added.

The spokesman said that Police stations could also promptly handle most crime reports and requests of a non-emergency nature.

The telephone and fax numbers of Police stations as well as Police hotlines are available on the Police website (http://www.info.gov.hk/police/hkp-home/english/contactus/rr.htm). Members of the public could keep a copy of the numbers for easy reference.


Police Report No. 3

Issued by PPRB

Ends/Sunday, July 30, 2006