New emergency number launched for non-critical police calls
Victorians have joined the rest of Australia this week in being connected to the new phone number for non-urgent police calls.
You should now use 13 14 44 instead of 000 for calls that don't require emergency response such as neighbourhood disputes and property theft. If deemed urgent, your call to 13 14 44 will be transferred to emergency services.
The introduction of this new service is expected to relieve the strain on the 000 service with around 30 per cent of all calls received being non-urgent.
That's a new one on me. I've never heard of this before. 13 14 44 is a rather a long no. to dial for Police for non-urgent calls?. Just another phone no. to add to my phone.
lol - why bother adding it? I have never needed it in my life before - probably most people also - I'm guessing?
Another opinion (of mine haha) is that an Emergency # should be uniform Worldwide!!! Not all different #'s in every country? Majority of TV shows (whether "reality" or "true") depict ............ "911" What's your emergency?
I recall a survey was done in schools/kinders awhile back now - where kids from ages 4 upwards were asked "Who would you dial in an emergency?" - most said "911" .....
Although lots obviously DO know to dial 000 here in Australia - because they are given "Bravery Awards" for saving parents/people!
I agree Foxy. Why on earth couldn't they stick with 3 digits.
Foxy there is already an almost worldwide emergency number - it is 112
12 is an international standard emergency number which can only be dialled on a digital mobile phone. It is accepted as a secondary international emergency number in some parts of the world, including Australia, and can be dialled in areas of GSM network coverage with the call automatically translated to that country’s emergency number. It does not require a simcard or pin number to make the call, however phone coverage must be available (any carrier) for the call to proceed.
You can even use it in Australia but it will redirect the call to 000.
NSW has a Police Assistance Line that is already in operationand works quite well
Yes as Foxy says it would be easier if they simplified the number.
https://www.police.nsw.gov.au/?a=6947
The Police Assistance Line (131444) operates 24hrs a day, 7 days a week.
If you are a victim of a crime, other than life threatening or time critical emergency situations, you should contact the Police Assistance Line (131 444).
Phoning 131 444 allows you to report crime over the phone. Once your report is completed by a customer service representative, your information is immediately available to your local police.
If the crime you wish to report can not be taken over the phone, due to its serious nature, the operator will assist you by advising where you can go to make the report, or by arranging for police to come and see you.
Types of crime you can report to Police Assistance Line (131 444) include:
Break and EnterMotor Vehicle/Vessel TheftStealingMalicious Damage, including GraffitiMinor Traffic Crashes*Lost PropertyFraud: Unauthorised Access of FundsScam – Obtain FundsScam – SellingFail to Pay (including Accommodation, Fuel (online only), Medical/Dental Services, Personal Services, Restaurant Meal, Taxi Trip (excluding Uber's)For businesses and organisations that have been scammed, some reports may require reporting to a Police Station or the Customer Service Representative can arrange for Police to attend your location
When a police response is required, Police Assistance Line (131 444) will arrange for police officers to attend.
Police Assistance Line (131 444) can also assist you with general police inquiries.
By phoning Police Assistance Line (131 444), rather than your local police station, you are freeing up Police Officers who could otherwise be on the street actively preventing and investigating crime in your community.
*Where a vehicle has been towed or a person involved in the crash seeks medical treatment for an injury sustained in the crash more than 24 hours after the crash, all parties exchanged details, no one was under the influence of drugs or alcohol
it is supposed to be for non urgent calls, but there will still be some nutters out there who will ring and abuse the service, agree it should be a universal number for urgent calls, either 999, or OOO, listening to the english show, AMBULANCE, the poor souls get called out for al type of things, suppose its the same here,
...have joined the rest of Australia? I have never heard of it before.
I thought they might be doing something smart like including 911 and 999 as numbers that diverts to 000.
The only time I have rung 000 for an emergency it took so long to get through to the right department I just made a mental note to myself that its not always a service that is immediate. Thank heavens for mobile phones so you can be with the patient and make the call simultaneously.
I wonder if 131444 is really necessary if 000 had enough staff. How many people do you know who say, " I guess its not really an emergency." - and it really is. It wouldn't take much for 000 to divert your call to either an emergency call or a non urgent call if enough people were manning the phones.
I agree Rosret. Sometimes we don't know if it is a dire emergency or not. Having a fall, with no injuries and unable to get up is certainly non urgent, however if someone is bleeding and they have dementia, and has a carer at home to make these calls, they may not know if it is a dire emergency or not. I think we should know more about the criteria used.
In the last sentence of the article it says "30 percent of all calls being non urgent". It would be better to add at the end of that sentence the words, 'according to our criteria'.
We telephoned 000 because my husband developed a bleed from a very recent surgery to remove a growth on his wrist. The call centre person asked me the questions and ordered an ambulance (it was 11.30 at night), when they arrived the head man was cross and said it was not enough of an emergency.
Emergency services now in Tasmania have a non urgent ambulance and I gather these people have less training and less equipment, and even if it is urgent, we have no idea if the person will be seen in a timely manner once the Ambulance arrives at the hospital. Then on some occasions, private hospitals will not allow a patient to receive emergency services via Ambulance for reasons I can't fully comprehend. Basically try to avoid getting injured or sick out of hours or during the Christmas and Easter break if you live in Tasmania. The word does not get around very quickly about how to get emergency ambulance services in Tasmania. Folks are left to find out in the middle of a crisus. Gurr.
Linda - this number is for the POLICE, not fire, not ambulance. Still call 000 for those.
This number is for non-urgent matters - reporting a car accident where there's no injuries, robberies, petty crime, anything that does not need immediate police attendance. This number has been in some states for 10 years now and works well.
South Australia already has this number in place for non urgent assistabce If the matter is urgent you dial triple for emergencies. Not a huge drama A good uses of resources
South Australia already has this number in place for non urgent assistabce If the matter is urgent you dial triple for emergencies. Not a huge drama A good uses of resources
That alternative police number has been available in SA for at least 10 years. Can't believe that a state next door with a much larger population hasn't caught on until now. Still, the rest of the country was decades behind SA with 10c bottle deposits so no surprise really.
You can dial 911 or 112 in Oz and get re routed to our emergency services. Best to remember our number though because it takes a few seconds for the redirection and in that time a person could be drawing their last breath!
Not sure if it is a good idea as most carriers charge for 131 calls. 000 is free. I think it is a money making issue for the governments as they would receive part of the payments from the phone companies just like they do for competion lines using the 131 numbers. Just a thought.
I thought Victoria had the "smart state " number plates. Wishful thinking I suppose? If you want to migrate the non urgent calls then why not make the number easier to recall than the 000 number? Emergency services people at the call centres spend far too much time bumping the callers, why not reverse that?
They have to be careful of using three diget numbers, 666 is the devil's number, You don't want to offend anyone or Israel might be on your case!
Seriously though, people should be fined for using emergency numbers for stupid reasons.
NSW has had the 131 444 number for around 10 years, VIC has finally caught up. And for all the people saying no one will call the number, hahaha, it's extremely busy, any police call that doesn't require immediate attention can go through there. Report everything that happens in your neighbourhood, minor things that are just kids probably but you should call the number, keeps the stats up and gives a picture of what's going on in the different areas. Traffic collissions that don't need police attendance, you call them, get a number which you can put in your claim to the insurance company.
The idea is to keep 000 for real life threatening crimes, incidents that need the police NOW.
"000 if need police NOW"? ...... Ok in theory I guess however - what about that poor family on the news last night that had 3 thugs breaking into their home with a crow bar whilst they were still inside......they called police and police came - FIVE HOURS LATER!! They could have been dead by then!
When the Police Commissioner was asked why the response time was sooooo delayed ...she said: Police got the call and "cruised" past the house and surrounding streets - 18 minutes are receiving the call!
Victim family wants to know: Why didn't Police knock/come to door??? Fair question IMO ..........police are looking into it ....bizarre!
.... did know about it and have seen the ads. depicting the number! Why on earth couldn't they have just made it "444" ? Simpler and easy to remember? Anything other than what they using? Plus the ads. I have seen could be a lot clearer in their message? Just my opinion .....
If a person is to believe these shows that are trending of late re police emergency calls etc. - it seems people will call police even to ask the time or for the latest flu remedy! Bizarre! Waste of money and time IMO ....