Make the Right Call

The Make the Right Call campaign aims to encourage the public to use our other reporting methods for non-urgent enquiries, rather than dialling 999.

During 2024, our Joint Communications Centre in St Asaph received 111,006 calls on the 999-emergency line. A pigeon with a broken wing, missing the bus, wrong takeaway orders and being unable to collect an Amazon parcel are just some examples of these calls.

Every minute one of our operators spends on the phone dealing with misdirected calls like these, is another minute someone may have to wait to get through with a genuine emergency.

So, what do we mean by “genuine emergency”?

Generally, you should only call 999 if:

• A life is in danger, or someone is being physically threatened.
• If you are witnessing a crime happening at the time, or think the offenders are still nearby.
• You witness or are involved in a serious road traffic collision where someone is badly injured, or other vehicles are causing an obstruction or a danger to other road users.

Before you call 999, take a moment to think whether what you’re calling about is an actual emergency. Perhaps put yourself in the shoes of someone who’s in desperate need of help and is having to wait longer to ask for it because someone else has called 999 to ask when their bin day is.

Taking that extra minute to consider using another contact method helps keep our 999-line free for someone who really needs us.

How else can I contact the Police?

Before you contact us, perhaps have a look at our website. A lot of people find that their questions are answered in our ‘Advice and Information’ section: Advice and information | North Wales Police

Still need to speak to us? Here’s how you can get in touch about non-urgent matters:

• Live Chat Support

This is a great way to speak to an operator through an instant messaging service and is often quicker than calling 101 - Live chat | North Wales Police

• Report via our Website

You can report a number of things through our website including crime, domestic abuse, missing people, anti-social behaviour or lost and found property. Our easy to use forms walk you through each step and tell you all the information we need to process your report - Report | North Wales Police

• Call 101

Our most common reporting method is the 101 line. Whilst some people would rather speak to an operator over the phone, this means our wait times for this service can be longer which can result in people hanging up and dialling 999 instead. If your call is not an emergency and you’d rather not wait in a call que, please do not call 999 - try one of our other contact methods instead.

Pocket Dial: What to do

Accidentally pocket-dialled the Police? Don’t worry, it happens! But please, don’t hang up and pretend it didn’t…

Our operators need to make sure your call wasn’t genuine. They’ll have to spend time contacting you back, and if they can’t get hold of you will need to send an officer to check you’re okay.

This is all time that could be saved by staying on the line and letting the operator know it was a genuine mistake, and you don’t need the Police. You won’t be in trouble, and we’ll let you go about your day.

Our Joint Communications Centre is running 24/7 and our amazing staff are working hard to respond to everyone as quickly as possible. By choosing an appropriate contact method for your query, you’ll be helping us respond to everyone quicker and may even save someone’s life without knowing it.