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‘Absolutely incredible’ event highlights police demand in Cambridgeshire




A gas explosion, a hoax stabbing, a fire in a prison, and dangerous driving, were just some of the calls police shared on social media during a “Postathon” event.

Between 4pm and 9pm on Friday, October 25 call handlers received 183 calls, ranging from serious collisions to missing Amazon deliveries.

The force took to social media to share a summary of all the calls during the five-hour event to highlight the volume and variety of incidents police face on an average Friday evening.

The call room is always a busy place dealing with calls from the public
The call room is always a busy place dealing with calls from the public

Of the 183 calls, 23 were silent, nine were reports of domestic abuse, 12 were violent incidents, six were regarding missing people and 11 were road-related.

The Postathon coincided with National Control Room Week, an annual event designed to showcase the important work of control room staff all over the country.

Social media users shared their thoughts on the Postathon, with one saying, “These updates are an amazing insight into life in the control room”, and another describing the Postathon as “absolutely incredible”.

Another user said: “I don’t think it’s recognised how many emergency calls just one police force gets in half an hour! Thank you to all emergency call handlers”.

Superintendent Nick Church, head of demand, said: “This is the fifth time we have done this for control room week and every year it is no less eye-opening for the public to see just how busy our phone lines are.

“The incredible demand we face is why we encourage online reporting in non-urgent situations, as it is not always possible to have an operator on the other end of the phone if it’s not deemed to be an emergency.

“I’d like to say thank you to all the incredibly hard-working control room staff who are kind, supportive, resilient, focused, and diligent. Their hard work never goes unnoticed.”

One Facebook user commented that he had “top respect” for call handlers after tuning into the Postathon as he found it shocking to see some of the reasons people called 999.

During the Postathon, a man called 999 because his Amazon parcel had arrived empty, two people reported that their Facebook page had been hacked, and a man called to report that someone had put children’s toys in his bin.

Police also received a call of a reported stabbing, which later turned out to be a hoax call. A man was consequently arrested on suspicion of wasting police time.

The public is reminded they should only use 999 in emergencies. For non-urgent matters, log a report online or use web chat, or call 101 if you do not have online access. This ensures call handlers will always be available to arrange help for those who need it most.

If you want to read the updates from the Postathon, you can on the police website.



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