South Yorkshire Police issues plea over 999 calls over Easter weekend

Call handlers are expecting a surge in demand over the bank holiday after a difficult couple of years during the Covid-19 pandemic, where people missed celebrating with family and friends.

With restrictions now fully lifted, South Yorkshire Police said the force is “preparing for a busy weekend” and is urging people to try to ease the “pressure” on call handlers by only dialling 999 in genuine emergencies and to use other methods to contact the force for less serious incidents.

On an average day, South Yorkshire Police answers over 800 emergency ‘999’ calls, and 1,000 calls to the ‘101’ number for non-life threatening incidents.

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Superintendent of communications Cherie Buttle said: “As well as being able to report your non-emergencies online, we now have a web chat facility through the website where you can speak online to a member of staff for advice.

“To use the facility you must create an account, but once you have an account you are able to use the service for updates, reporting incidents and further contact.

“Our call handlers answer 999 and 101 calls and when we are experiencing high demand they must prioritise 999 calls - which means the wait time for 101 can increase.

“You can help our lines remain clear for emergencies by using our online services.”

For more information about when to call 999, 101 or how to use online reporting tools, visit the South Yorkshire Police website.