15 April 2023 , 15:53
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A woman phoned 999 to complain that her "dustbin has not been emptied for two weeks" wasting more than a minute of the emergency call handler's time.
Cambridgeshire Police have released the recording of the conversation with the member of the public to emphasise that the 999 line should only be used for "emergency" calls.
The woman was angry because her bins had not been emptied for two weeks "and it stands out".
She was repeatedly told by the operator that she should try and contact Peterborough City Council and he even had to say that the line wasn't "directory enquiries" when she said she didn't know if she had that number.
The operator remained calm during the conversation that went on for 67 seconds.
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A woman called 999 after her bins had not been emptied. File image (Getty Images/iStockphoto)The phone call began with the woman saying: "Now this might sound funny, I’ve rung every call I can get, my dustbin has been emptied for two weeks."
And call handler replied: "Right okay that is not a 999 matter and it’s definitely not a police matter. You’re in Peterborough are you?"
When the woman said she lived in Paston he said she should call the council.
"Yeah, what I would suggest you do is phone Peterborough City Council," he said while the caller responded: "I don’t know if I’ve got her number now."
At that point the operator said: "Unfortunately this isn’t directory enquiries we don’t have their number but this is definitely not a 999 emergency and you will need to phone Peterborough City Council for that."
But the woman was adamant continuing: "Yeah well it’s two weeks since they not emptied my bin and it stands out. I’m not being funny," and the operator said: "The police are not here to empty waste bins you will need to speak to the council about that."
He added: "It’s not a life and death emergency, you are blocking up a 999 line so I would advise you to phone the council."
And finally the woman said "thank you bye."
Cambridgeshire Police has used it to show how police time can be wasted with non-emergency calls.
It tweeted: "Yes, this is a real 999 'emergency' call. Our call handlers often have to redirect incoming 999 calls that should be for either the non-emergency line (or our online services if you have access), or for other authorities altogether, like the council."
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