When to Get the Police Involved

People tend to be divided into two camps when it comes to getting the police involved in a neighbourhood dispute or when something untoward is happening in their neighbourhood. There are those who will tend to think that the problem isn’t serious enough to warrant calling the police when they’ll have far more important issues to deal with. Then there are those who will call the police at every given opportunity, no matter how trivial, as they believe that a call to the police is the quickest and most effective way of getting a successful resolution to a specific problem.

When Should I Call The Police?

If a crime is taking place right now or you feel you are in imminent danger and that an immediate response is required, you should always dial 999 as this is an ‘emergency’. It might be that you’ve been threatened by your neighbour and that they are banging on your door looking to gain entry. It could be that you’ve already been physically assaulted. In situations like this, 999 is the right option. Explain the situation to the person handling the call giving them as much as detail as possible as well as your address and your neighbour’s address.

It’s important, however, to remember that 999 is for emergency responses only. If you’re faced with imminent danger, there’s no doubt that you would like the police to arrive quickly so… think on, if you’re the kind of person who dials 999 at the merest hint of believing that something happening is not quite ‘right’. For every call that isn’t an emergency, you could be taking up valuable police time which could be spent getting to incidents where people’s lives could be in real danger and you wouldn’t want that happening to you, if you were in real danger or if a crime had already been committed against you.

The Difference Between Calling 999 and my Local Police Force

The police keep records of all calls made to them and by far the most worrying issue is that most, if not all, forces would tell you that perhaps as little as 20% of calls made to 999 (and often even less than that) are calls that they would consider actual ‘emergencies’. Therefore, unless an actual crime has been committed or where someone is in imminent danger, the best alternative, if you still feel there has been an incident which should be investigated by the police, is to call your local county constabulary’s number instead.

For example, you’ve looked out of your window and you see a group of youths arguing with each other on the street which is threatening to get out of hand or perhaps a Rottweiler is patrolling the street without an owner in sight. Whilst both of these could potentially evolve into serious situations, no actual crime has yet been committed for definite nor is there any proof of imminent danger so, in cases like this, you should contact your local police constabulary who will, in most cases, still send somebody out to investigate. Incidentally, it’s always handy to keep a note of your local constabulary’s number either written down or stored in your mobile phone in case you need to make a speedy call.

Ultimately, however, providing you’re not making hoax calls or making ridiculous calls that the police would simply not get involved with, if you’re in any doubt at all about which to number to call, the police would still advise you to call 999 in case it is a genuine emergency rather than you deliberate for too long or then decide not to call at all for fear of wasting their time. At the end of the day, if you don’t call at all, a serious crime may end up being committed which you may have helped to prevent.