Drive to report non urgent crime in Wiltshire online
New campaign launched to cut number of unnecessary 999 calls
Wiltshire Police says it's expecting a spike in demand and increase in calls now Covid restrictons have eased.
To help ease the pressure the force is urging people to only dial 999 in an emergency or if a crime is in progress and to report non urgent incidents online.
Every year Wiltshire Police receive almost 100,000 999 calls but more than half of these are not urgent and could be dealt with in a different way.
The force say don't want to discourage people from contacting them, but if 999 is only ever dialled in an emergency, it will help them respond to that incident quicker.
A new campaign has been launched to try to get the message out to people with the strapline "Click or call: You have the power to save our time."
The force also receive almost 300,000 calls on the non-urgent 101 number.
Assistant Chief Constable Deb Smith said:
"Our message is so simple - the power to help us lies within every member of our community.
"If you are able to report an incident or access the information you need on our website, you will be playing your part in reducing the thousands of calls we get into our call centre each year.
"Throughout the COVID pandemic, all police forces saw a reduction in crime as lockdown simply meant most people were living and working at home but we are now all expecting calls for our services to rapidly rise.
"We will always be here for you when you need us the most. All we are encouraging you to do is to ask yourself - can I access what I need online or do I need to call?"
Anyone wanting to report a non-urgen crime online can do so by visiting the Wiltshire Police website.