ACT Policing has issued an urgent plea to Canberrans to consider if a call to police is really necessary as misdirected calls impact its emergency operations call centre.
Superintendent of Operations at ACT Policing, Rebecca Goddard said call waiting times for non-urgent calls to 131 444 had increased significantly as a result of misdirected, and sometimes needless, calls being made to police.
“We understand that people are concerned about everyone doing the right thing during the lockdown, but calling us to report two children not wearing masks while jumping on a trampoline in their backyard is a serious waste of our resources,” Superintendent Goddard said.
“We have also had calls about two people getting out of a car in a retail carpark and calls from people seeking advice about exemptions or other health-related questions,” she said.
“These are not calls that should be made to police.”
Superintendent Goddard said those types of calls could delay important information about crimes as they were being committed, such as family violence incidents, vehicle thefts, burglaries and information about missing persons.
She said that, last week, one person reporting information about a missing person had to wait more than 30 minutes to speak with an operator at the emergency call centre.
“I am asking anyone who is about to call police to ask themselves – is this an immediate police matter?”
“If not, there are other ways to provide your information or to get information,” Superintendent Goddard said.
COVID-19 Taskforce Commander at ACT Policing, Jo Cameron encouraged people who were uncertain about what may be happening around them during lockdown to connect with their neighbours in a safe, distant way.
“Knowing your neighbours and the people in your community is beneficial all the time, and particularly during an emergency or crisis such as what we are facing,” Commander Cameron said.
“Staying connected is critical to help combat feelings of loneliness or even anxiety that could arise or worsen as a result of staying home, which we’ve seen from some of the compliance reports made,” she said.
Matters of non-compliance with health directions can be reported on the Access Canberra website at this PS News link.
