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Police today (February 13) appealed to the public to use the 999 hotline service only for emergencies.
In 2012, the Police Regional Command and Control Centres received 2,258,529 calls, of which only 52.2 per cent, or 1,180,056 calls, were genuine. The remaining 1,078,473 were nuisance calls or misdialled.
A Police spokesman said that misuse of the emergency hotline would unnecessarily engage operators of the control centres and delay the handling of genuine emergencies.
"It could also endanger the lives of people at risk by postponing their access to the service," he said.
The spokesman said that police stations in various districts could also promptly handle most crime reports and requests of a non-emergency nature. Members of the public are advised to seek assistance from police stations. The list of contact numbers of police stations can be found on the police website (www.police.gov.hk) and the Hong Kong Police Mobile Application.
Police Report No. 76
Ends/Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Issued at HKT 09:42
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