Article from: The Straits Times Monday 23 Febuary 2009 Pg. B5
Article Title: Nuisance callers dial up a 999 logjam.
The article focused on a main idea that calling 999, for non- urgent situations is incorrect. The article further illastrates this by following a workday of a police staff. The Straits Times journalist found out that pranksters swamp police hotlines, while others treat it as a phone directory or a complaint bureau. Among the 273 calls the followed police staff took, 8 in 10 calls were nuisance and dropped calls. The nuisance callers can sometimes hamper the speed at which information is passed on, and can potantially delay police response in situations where every seconds matters.
I was surprised to get to know of such an incident, as since young, we were taught that the number 999 is only for emergencies, and that we were not suppose to make nuisance calls. I didn't know that people, especially adults dialled 999 for enquiry, and non- emergency matters. This pranksters should know that their numbers can be traced easily by the police, and they may be dealt with easily.
From the article, we can see the ugly side of singaporeans.
I think the pranksters should be seriously dealt with. Maybe give them a heavy fine, or give them detention. Hopefully, this will deter people from calling 999 as and when they like. Better prevent than to punish, I suggest that the public be better educated in this area, and we can also do our part by spreading this massage to those aruond us.
Last but not least I also suggest a number for people to call for non- emregency matters.
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