We often hear members of the public, including our own Neighbourhood Watch members, complain that incidents are not worth reporting, because nothing happens.
This is just not true; it is just that people do not know what happens. If you expect a police car with its blue lights flashing and its sirens blaring to turn up within five minutes of your call, you are usually being unrealistic. The fact is that all incidents are recorded, and the information is used to inform the pattern of policing in your area. It just isn't possible to give individual feedback to everybody who calls in with an incident, but the overall patterns are discussed by the police, the local council and by members of your committee, which includes your Neighbourhood Watch Area Coordinator. So please remember, your call really does count! It is only when everybody knows what the problems are and where they are occurring that we can work together to find solutions.
Please only use 999 to report emergency situations. There is a helpful mnemonic to remember when to use 999:
Calls to this number will be routed to Hampshire Constabulary's Control Room in Netley, where an operator (who may be a police officer or a civilian employee), will take all relevant details before deciding upon a course of action. This may well mean an immediate deployment of a police unit to investigate the incident, but this does depend upon the priority of the incident when measured against other reported incidents in the local district and the availability of police resources.
Where it is not possible to provide an immediate response, the call handler will normally be able to give you an ETA (estimated time of arrival); this may be anything up to two hours from the time of your call, depending on the priority grading given to your call and the availability of units to deploy. If it is not possible to achieve the ETA, you should receive a follow-up call to keep you informed.
The Control Room uses sophisticated mapping technology to pinpoint the incident based upon the information you are able to provide, therefore a post code is always most helpful. As an alternative to 999, you can use the EU-wide emergency number, 112.
When contacting Hampshire Constabulary on any matter which does not justify the use of the 999 Emergency service, you have a choice of three numbers to use:
(Originally this number was intended by HM Government to be a single non-emergency contact number throughout the UK for contacting police and local councils about low-level crime and anti-social behaviour, but this project was abandoned after a trial period in certain parts of the country, including Hampshire; nevertheless, Hampshire Constabulary has decided to continue the number as an alternative to its 0845 045 45 45 non-emergency number.)
Calls to any of these three numbers will be answered at the Hampshire Constabulary Force Enquiry Centre at Headquarters in Winchester, and can be used to make contact with staff at any Police Station or Department of Hampshire Constabulary, as well as to report any incidents of crime or disorder which do not fall within the designation of an emergency situation.
What happens when you report a non-emergency incident will depend upon the circumstances, and may include one or more of the following, after the operator has obtained details from you:
In addition to the numbers above, there are alternative means of communication available to those with hearing difficulties. Follow the link below for details of the 'PLOD' scheme (Police Link Officers for Deaf people):
External link to information on the PLOD scheme >>
You can also make direct contact with your local police officers, by email, by telephone, or by attending one of their regular "surgeries". Follow the link below for full details of your local team, and how they can be contacted:
Link to further information on your police Safer Neighbourhood Team >>