If it is not a situation where crime is happening at the moment or where someone is in immediate danger, you should call your local police instead. Each police station has a special number that can handle all non-emergency situations.

We aim to answer 80 per cent of 999 calls within 15 seconds,so it is important that calls to 999 are genuine and appropriate to ensure that we can respond properly to real emergencies.

Stopping accidental calls

The emergency services receive hundreds of thousands of unintended calls each year.Like hoaxes and other misguided calls, these all add to the load on the 999 system and make it harder for police, fire and ambulance services to do their job.

Click here for contact information to local police stations

How to call 999

All 999 calls are received by police representatives who are trained to screen calls quickly and efficiently:

1. Dial 999(on a pay phone it is not necessary to deposit money).
2. Tell the operator what you need; ambulance, fire truck, or the police.
3. Be calm. When a caller is upset, it is hard to understand what he or she is saying or to get vital information quickly.
4. Stay on the phone. Do not hang up!
5. Give your name and address. If your address is different from the location of the crime, be sure to let the operator know.
6. If possible, give the operator suspect description, weapons, if any, and vehicle description and license.