The Metropolitan police control room was left baffled this week after a call handler received a call from a distressed resident in North London after being “followed down the road” by a cat. The resident dialed 999 and asked the police for help.
The incident was highlighted by Chief Superintendent Dan Ivey on Twitter who was left surprised after finding out about the call.
He tweeted: “Can’t quite believe I’m typing this but I’ve just been told one of our most recent calls on 9️99 was someone reporting being followed down the road by a cat.
“Yes. A CAT. I had to listen to the call myself to believe it.”
He told MyLondon that the person rang from Finchley, and “was suggesting the cat had been following them ‘for some time’ down the road and didn’t belong to them”.
He also said that some people are calling up 999 system to order pizza.
According to the recent data shared by the police, on June 21, the police received 9,500 calls to 999 with 1,385 of those requiring urgent assistance.
Earlier in the week, the police shared guidance for people about responsible use of the 999 service.
Superintendent Dan Ivey, responsible for Met Command and Control, said: “We have seen a huge increase in abandoned calls and inappropriate use of the service.
He also said that some people are calling up 999 system to order pizza.
According to the recent data shared by the police, on June 21, the police received 9,500 calls to 999 with 1,385 of those requiring urgent assistance.
Earlier in the week, the police shared guidance for people about responsible use of the 999 service.
Superintendent Dan Ivey, responsible for Met Command and Control, said: “We have seen a huge increase in abandoned calls and inappropriate use of the service.
“If we are going to get to the people in the queue who need us, we need to reduce the calls from those who don’t. We need the public to work with us.
“The introduction of tech is a factor, including cars and watches with tech that call 999. There are Android devices that automatically call 999 if you press a side button a number of times.
“You can really help us out by going to your device settings and sliding the SOS button to the off position.
“And if you do pocket-dial 999 and see a call incoming, please answer it because it is probably someone from a control room seeing if you are okay.”
