400 Hoax 999 Calls

22 October 2013, 13:10 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

A 16 year old girl's been given a youth rehabilitation order after 400 hoax calls were made to Derbyshire Police.

90 of the calls were made to 999 in just one night.

Officers say they were trying to save a woman from a river and find missing people at the time.

21 year old Irene Power of Elmtree Avenue, Allenton, Derby also admitted wasting police time. She received a 20-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.

'Putting Lives At Risk'

Police are now reminding people not to misuse 999 and the consequences of doing so.

Superintendent Tracy Harrison, who is head of the force's Contact Management Department, said:

'Every time someone misuses 999 they are potentially putting other people's lives at risk as it could impact on how quickly other emergency calls are answered and dealt with.

'These two young women showed a complete disregard for that fact and called repeatedly despite being warned of the consequences.

'Those who are found responsible for making hoax calls will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law. We have the capability to track calls and identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.'

Derbyshire Constabulary spent a total of 796 hours dealing with hoax calls during 2012 and 441 hoax calls made last year resulted in one or more officers being deployed unnecessarily.