Emergency Response

mergency calls to the police have risen by 50 per cent over the last 15 years, although recorded crime has dropped by a third over the same period. The series follows the police responding to emergency calls and reveals the incredible things people choose to call 999 about: from mobile phones running out of credit to arguments about whose turn it is to have a go on the Nintendo Wii. Kent constabulary receive a quarter of a million 999 calls every year, with 80% classed as non-emergencies and many seen as 'nuisance calls'. 'We're seeing a generation divide,' says Chief Inspector Nicola Faulconbridge of Kent's Force Communications Centre. 'Whereas the older generation won¿t call us for almost anything, even in an emergency, the younger generation are much more willing and ready to call us about almost any issue.' Police officers are spending much of their time acting as counselors, settling petty squabbles and relationship problems. 'Sometimes you just want to bang people's heads together and go 'Come on, look at you - you're 40 and you're acting like you're 12!'' says PC Neil Cronin. Another issue prompting an increasing number of calls to 999 calls is Facebook. When virtual threats get out of hand, the police have no choice but to treat it as a real emergency, sending cars racing to the scene.