The following self explanatory email has been sent to Greg Smith the Sussex Police 101 Contact Handler and it is hoped that we will be able to publish a reply shortly:
Hello Greg
Many thanks for your reply and to the original switchboard operator for her advice when I was trying to make contact on 101 last week.
As the village Neighbourhood Watch coordinator I am extremely concerned about the high number of negative comments that are coming back from members of the community when advising them to ‘phone 101 to report non urgent incidents and suspicions etc. Words and phrases such as ‘Useless’, ‘Waste of time’, ‘Pointless’, ‘Frustrating’ and ‘Annoying’ are constantly being repeated and often posted on our Social Media pages. More than a few report that they have been hanging on the line for anything between 30 to 60 minutes to have their call put through.
Is their anything I can tell our members to reassure them that the use of the 101 number is still of value and importance to local policing and that the current problems with reporting incidents using the number will be resolved?
Regards
Eddie Westfield
Hadlow Down Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator