Is this fair? It will cost you money to help the police when you ring 101
Calls to 101 (from both landlines and mobile networks) cost 15 pence per call, no matter what time of day you call, or how long you are on the phone. The 15p cost of the call goes to the telephony providers to cover the cost of carrying the calls. The police and government receive no money from calls to 101. Compare this with 999 calls, which are free.
101 is the number to call when you want to contact the Police Service of Northern Ireland for non-emergency matters. It is available 24-hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. ... An emergency is when a crime is happening, someone suspected of a crime is nearby, someone is injured, being threatened or in danger.
999 calls for emergency services in the UK are free.
Our Council Tax includes a payment to the Police - so is it fair to pay for 101 calls, which are often made to help them in their inquiries.
EXTRA
A number of readers have responded in I SAY to the above report, so we asked GOOGLE: "Who funds the Police?" in order to get more information, the following information was given:
"Police funding in England and Wales. ... £8.6 billion is funded by central government, with the rest funded by council tax contributions and charging for some services, like policing football matches. £728 million for counter-terrorism policing and £75 million for capital projects are funded separately."
Surely this presents a case for no-charge for 101 calls. We wonder who will be the first enterprising MP to raise the matter in Parliament and ask the Home Secretary is this charge fair in this day and age of tackling crime.
The present charge is certainly no incentive for anyone to help the Police by using the 101 number.
