Six hundred 999 calls to Greater Manchester Police were diverted to other forces. Operators switched the emergencies to Merseyside, Lancashire, Cheshire, and Cumbria police in the last year.
GMP say the system – set up two years ago - is used as a backup so that callers always get through to someone.
The system also kicks in when there is maintenance work. This week a woman who made an emergency call at 10am on Wednesday to report drug dealers exchanging cash and drugs outside her home in Oldham was put through to Merseyside Police.
When she asked why she says she was told 'Manchester police are not taking 999 calls'.
She said: "I saw the deal take place from my house and called 999. I could tell the operator was struggling to put me through and I waited for a while.
"I heard her say 'what can I do' and the reply was '151 – 999' – which meant put it through to Liverpool.
"I was eventually connected to an officer, who said they were from Merseyside Police.
"I was astonished. I asked why I had been put through to them and was told it was because Manchester was not taking 999 calls.
"I could have been reporting a life or death situation. It was 10am midweek – not what you would expect to be the busiest time of the day.
"The operator said she could take a report from me and pass it on to Manchester when they were available – I decided not to bother.
"If they had acted quickly they could have caught them still on the street.
"There must clearly be a serious problem with 999 system if they have to do this."
"If there is a major emergency or incident like a bombing and the police are swamped with calls I could understand it – but a Wednesday morning when nothing is going on – it does not give you much confidence that police can respond."
A spokeswoman for GMP said the back up system was used as BT operators – the first contact for callers – had to connect them to police within a certain time.
If GMP cannot take the call they are diverted to another force.
"The information is taken and then immediately relayed to GMP. We have a reciprocal arrangement with the other forces and will take calls for them when required," said the spokeswoman.
The force receives about one million 999 calls per year of which 0.06 per cent are diverted.
GMP deals with about 600 calls meant for other forces each year.
Earlier this month Chief Constable, Peter Fahy, who was speaking after GMP set itself a 90-day deadline to improve its performance, said call handling had improved and the force was meeting targets and providing a 'very good service'.
Regarding the incident this week, Supt Karan Lee of GMP's Operations Communications Branch, said: "At 2am on Wednesday January 27th essential maintenance work was carried out on GMP's phone system.
"A problem occurred following the work which led to a slight delay in answering a small number of emergency and non-emergency calls. In line with our continuity plan calls were diverted to surrounding police forces to minimise disruption and GMP staff are now dealing with all 999 calls.
"We always try to schedule this work at our quietest time to minimise the impact on the public and any problems that arise are dealt with quickly to ensure this does not affect the service we provide to our communities."
Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All
Steve an alternative view (29/01/2010 at 09:42)
And this woman knew for a fact that at the precise time she phoned up there was absolutely nothing going on in the Manchester area. How did she know that did she Google it?
Mark,Radcliffe. (29/01/2010 at 10:25)
Audenshaw Bob (29/01/2010 at 10:45)
Maybe we should outsource our policing to Dubai. Over there right now their latest campaign is 'report crime straight away'. This is encouraging people to report it as soon as they see it so the police don't lose any time in trying to aprehend the criminal, particularly in the case of burglars and robbers.
Over here the campaign is 'leave it on show and it WILL be stolen'.
Contrast and compare.
Dubai police could be here within eight hours on Emirates to investigate a burgalry as oppose to 72 hours with teh local police.
Ace Riley, outsidethebox (29/01/2010 at 11:27)
RT, UK (29/01/2010 at 11:53)
along the line to deal with them. It should not have to get to a great debate
over location. That is the nature of mapping and information systems.
In plain terms if calls from Manchester to anywhere - there should be mapping
systems of that area in the place with call handling facilities. The police have
a national network of communication provided at the cost of many millions
of pounds - Use it and use it properly.
j John (29/01/2010 at 11:58)
Steve alterntive view, the lady was just pointing out that there was not much going on, she won't know about this incident or the other but you have to admit she has a point, if one calls the police for a real emergency or real assistance then acccessing another Force is not necessarily useful.
GMP must improve all over but to be fair the Call centre has been a problem for a while now, and when they answer they are not exactly helpful either!!! So this should be addressed along with all of the other Fahy's shortcomings.
I would suggest the lady DID report the incident as if it happened once there is always the chance that it will happen again, same area same people, possibly. Provided this lady does exist and she has seen something real taking place and it is not just the "journalist" coming up with another little story just to have a go...
Bertie McGrew , Northern Countryside (29/01/2010 at 12:41)
Some creative thinking may relieve the pressure here and give the public more confidence that the Police will actually respond.
MancLadUK, Manchester (29/01/2010 at 12:55)
I think you need to learn to go and read the GMP website or have a look at what they're doing. The leaving it in sight campaign is but one of many, which even school kids are aware of, and yet you appear to be only aware of one?
I'm not sure if you're deliberately only reading what you want or if you're unable to take it all in??
As for Dubai police - better funded, don't police the levels of poverty as in Manchester and the residents of Dubai have a lot more respect and are generally better behaved than many of the people dealt with by GMP each day. It's really not an accurate comparrison....
Ace Riley, outsidethebo,
You may not be aware, but police forces use computers these days. This includes computerised mapping systems which allow addresses and locations to be found very quickly. Providers of these professional mapping systems provide very comprahensive and up to date maps of the whole of the UK, so any force can find a street or location in any other force area without issue.
j John
Let's remember that maintenance work doesn't necesserily mean it's planned. Systems can crash or require being taken down for work at any time, I'd be surprised if this was planned maintenance.
As for another force not being useful, why?? Even the PNC system which has been around for decades allows for message exchanging between forces, add to that the modern days systems also in place and it's not hard to see that an incident log can be created between forces and sent to the correct force in no time. The fact the line was answered and she spoke to someone meant that Manchester could have been made aware if she'd bothered to see the call through.
I'd question this woman's call anyway, either it's happening and is important or it's not. She can't have been that bothered about it if she's not bothered to tell the call handler once she's got through. If it was something bothering me I'd be telling anyone who answered the phone, so it's interesting that she's no longer interested in reporting the incident....
This article could have been more informative if the M.E.N. had looked in to why the system is as busy as it is. It would have taken a different spin if they included information about how many people call the 999 number incorrectly instead of using 0161 8725050. Too many people use 999 when they shouldn't just because it's free or because they can't be bothered to use the normal non-emergency number. This takes up priority slots, meaning there's less for genuine 999 calls. So while you're blaming GMP, consider blaming the idiots using the 999 system innapropriately each and every day.
Audenshaw Bob (29/01/2010 at 13:00)
MPs gravy train, UK (29/01/2010 at 13:10)
Gringo The Mexican Mancunian (29/01/2010 at 14:06)
thoughtful, East of Manchester (29/01/2010 at 14:22)
I would say that there has been plenty of time from the 999 call to the report today for it to have been ascertained that there was no major incident taking place. It's not rocket science to find out, you only have to ask the news desk if they're aware of anything.
The point about this is that around 2 people per day have dialed 999 and have not been put through immediately to GMP but to Merseyside. The 999 service is a security blanket, it's nice to know that it's there if we need it, to find that sometimes when we do need them a call is going to be diverted to Liverpool is hardly a comfort.
I'll ask you to think about the nightmare scenario that a man with an axe is breaking into your house, and you desperately phone the police only to face a delay of 5 minutes, before being put through to Liverpool with a message that they will pass the report across when someones available!
It's not something I would like to happen to me, and I don't think it's acceptable given the amount of money this 'service' costs us.
Mark,Radcliffe. (29/01/2010 at 14:28)
Hamish Macbeth, Whitefield (29/01/2010 at 15:46)
The Ambulance and Fire shunt their calls to the cops if they have "issues".
GMP have at times taken 999 calls from Lancs, Cheshire, Murkeyside and other neighbouring forces.
What do people expect them to do ?
MancLadUK, Manchester (29/01/2010 at 19:34)
I would suggest that anyone calling 999 to report an abandoned car on their road, wheelie bins being left out, a noisy neighbour and many other non-emergency job is really going to have to have a think about their actions. If you read my post you'll see I'm referring to people using the service for free calls or in the above cases.
If it's a genuine 999 call then fair enough, but there are way too many people using the systyem when they shouldn't. Your comments are way off the mark when you think about someone calling up because they want to ask the time, which also happens!
Acid, Chadderton (29/01/2010 at 20:24)
29/01/2010 at 14:06
If you hate the paper so much why do you read it?
Acid, Chadderton (29/01/2010 at 20:29)
29/01/2010 at 14:06
If you hate the paper so much why do you read it?
Mark,Radcliffe. (29/01/2010 at 20:40)
little Colin, Urmston (29/01/2010 at 21:40)
'So while you're blaming GMP, consider blaming the idiots using the 999 system innapropriately each and every day'.
well said, if only the MEN covered the stories of the idiots who abuse the 999 system for ALL emergency services, now they would make good reading.
Stickman, Bury (29/01/2010 at 21:52)
Blunt (29/01/2010 at 22:18)
irrelevant, Salford (30/01/2010 at 09:55)
I would hope that whoever answers the call, wherever in the country, would have the facilities to pass the call details onto whichever force it belongs to so at very least it gets logged on their computer system and can be attended to by the officers on the street.
NickS (30/01/2010 at 13:28)
And qoute: "but a Wednesday morning when nothing is going on"
How does she know whats going on in GMP at a certain time? Do emergencies only happen at the weekend?
MEN, you're making a mountain out of a mole hill.
RT, UK (30/01/2010 at 15:28)
Like a lot of their schemes, having set up a network, held loads of meetings and got he mobile phone companies on board, they dropped it. Probably because it was a good idea.
But the Welsh Assembly then decided to take it on - so if you dial 101 you will get the Police Non Emergency Service for Wales.
J , Foulridge (31/01/2010 at 12:00)