Cheadle and Gatley Lib Dems are moving
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by Lib Dem team on 4 November, 2011
From 23 November, 101 will be the number that members of the public should call when they want to contact GMP when it’s less urgent than 999. Until now, each UK Police Force has had a different non-emergency number from each other, most of them equally hard to remember such as GMPs 5050 – but that’s about to change.
The launch of the new single non-emergency number (SNEN) is part of a national project to make access to the police easier and to reduce non-appropriate use of 999. 101 is gradually being rolled out across the country, GMP joins 13 other forces including the Metropolitan Police, Welsh forces, Avon and Somerset and South Yorkshire who introduced the number earlier this year. 101 will be available across the whole of the UK by the end of January.
Assistant Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: “The introduction of 101 is the biggest change in the way people can contact the police since 999 was introduced in the 1940’s. Having just two phone numbers: 101 for situations that do not require an immediate police response or 999 if it’s an emergency, makes calling GMP a lot easier and makes our services more accessible to all. The new, easy to remember number is being introduced across the country to make it simpler for people to contact the police when it’s not an emergency. It’s also expected to reduce the number of inappropriate 999 calls GMP receives, enabling officers to respond to genuine emergencies more effectively. In the coming weeks you’ll see GMPs vehicle fleet start to display the new number and I’d like to ask all GMP staff to help get the message out and let the people of Greater Manchester know that from 23 November there will be an easier way to contact us when they need to report a less urgent matter.”
Calls to GMPs existing non emergency number (0161 872 5050) will continue to be received, but it will eventually be phased out. As with 999 and 5050, calls to 101 will be received by officers and staff at our Operational Communications Branch.
Calls to 101 will cost the local call rate, though mobile rates may be more.
2 Comments
a report in a newspaper this week stated the number as 111 in the trial areas mentioned, and that hundreds of calls went unanswered. One contributor gave up after hanging on for 30 minutes.
Are we promised anything better than this?
Hi Estelle. 111 is for non-emergency NHS calls (for health advice etc.), 101 is for non-emergency police calls.
I assume the police calls will go through to the same people as the current 5050 number, which I’ve never had a problem getting through to, but can’t promise of course.