Jail for Wasting 999's Time?
Ask a Question
Should people who waste 999's time be jailed?
Last month, Cambridgeshire police got calls from a man about his bike pedal falling off and a woman asking for a lift. Should these time-wasters face consequences? 
No as there are not enough jail spaces for such stupidity. I would propose they be fined and whilst doing so taking into account those with high incomes etc. They could so be taking up the few police resources we actually have in this country so they should be punished where it hurts, in their pocket.
EmmaWright762 I totally agree with you. The prisons are up to capacity as it is. Many crimes do not warrant jail time but do need punishment so fines are the best way.
Some people are just ridiculous, I watched as a police program about this recently and one 999 call was from a woman needing tampons
Jail would be a little extreme, however a fine would definitely be appropriate as it costs money to run the service
A sensible deterrent could be an automatic fine like a traffic warden can issue so it doesn’t have to go through the courts.
As there's not enough space in jail for them no. Fines should he handed out or community services.
Jail would be a little extreme, plus there aren't enough spaces. Some sort of deterrent is definitely needed. A fine would do and if they are a persistent 999 abuser then community service.
Not sure jail is the answer, some people that do things like this have mental health issues, others are just stressed , confused or at their wits end and just don't know where to go for help and 999 is an easy option to call.
they don't have to clean the streets 
jam45 cautions don’t always work. I remember watching something about it once - a chap called an ambulance something like ten times in a week complaining of pain - in plain view was a bottle of prescription morphine!
This is a hard question as the jails are already full and can't cope with the growing prison population. Also some people genuinely don't realise the consequences of their actions when making the calls . Some people are genuinely lonely and are looking for an excuse to have a conversation and therefore when they see something they think that it's more of an emergency than it is as they only want human interaction.
Whereas I think there should be severe consequences for these waste of resources each call needs to be looked at and the punishment needs to fit with the circumstances. I would say it's better to fine a person as it would be a deterrent as most people are struggling financially at present . However some people who can afford the fines wouldn't see it as any kind of punishment so would continue wasting time and money on silly calls . Also you don't want people to worry about calling 999 in an emergency in case the reason isn't as serious as they think , then they end up in trouble. I really struggle with a good answer for this question
Not sure about prison due to room but maybe fines should start to be implied to people that waste 999 calls.
How stupid are some people in this country these days really 
got to say it's scary.
Police should have been allowed to confiscate their phones for a month, see how they like that.
jam45 I must admit I was assuming these idiots would not be able to spend £100s on a new phone, especially if they get theirs back in a month. I don't think cautions would stop stupid behaviour, surely no sane person would make such insane calls. Community service seems to be the answer if we don't want to clog up jails. Give something back to society.
How would these people feel if they had a relative die because the ambulance was on a hoax/stupid call
Join for free to get genuine deals, money saving advice and help from our friendly community
Chief Bargain Hunter
