People have made fewer non-emergency calls to triple zero in the first third of 2021 compared with the average but the number is still too high, leading to diminished resources for genuine emergencies, police have said.
From January 1 to April 30, ACT Policing have answered 11,500 triple zero calls, with 3779 of those being deemed "more suitable to a non-emergency line".
That equates to about 33 per cent. A police spokesperson said past analysis of calls suggested about half were not for genuine emergencies, with about 30 per cent regarded as honest mistakes and about 20 per cent hoax or nuisance calls.
"Incorrect or inappropriate use of the triple zero service may delay a police response to a real life-and- death situation," the spokesperson said.
"Nuisance or hoax phone calls may also lead to emergency responses being activated, such as urgent duty driving, creating an unnecessary risk for police, emergency services members and the general public."
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The spokesperson said while the 33 per cent of calls were deemed non-emergency, it was not directly comparable to other jurisdictions because it did not capture all non-emergency calls made to triple zero in the ACT.
It is an offence under ACT and Commonwealth law to make false reports to police, to cause police resources to be wasted or to use a phone to harass a person.
In May, police appealed to the public not to make emergency calls for trivial incidents, including asking them to babysit and investigate a bad haircut.
Other calls also include asking help for directions while a man faced court last year after making needless calls to triple zero.
In the first third of this year, 43,609 calls were made to police assistance for non-emergencies.
At present, ACT Policing does not transfer calls received by triple zero to the police assistance line.
People who make a triple zero call in non-emergency situations are asked to hang up then call 131 444.
In the event of a life-threatening emergency, call triple zero from a safe location.
To report a non-life-threatening or non-emergency, call police assistance on 131 444. ACT Policing also encourages the use of the Emergency + app.
