How to phone Police Enquiry Centre

Jeffrey Pick Watch Administrator RBWM

 

 

COMMUNICATING WITH THE POLICE:

 

There are only 2 numbers to telephone the police:-999

01865 841148    (for the entire Thames Valley)

 

It is no longer possible to phone Windsor Police station direct.  All calls must go through the ‘Police Enquiry Centre’ (PEC) on the 01865 841148 number.

 

WHEN TO DIAL 999 FOR THE POLICE:

 

1.         In an emergency.  Everyone should think ahead.  For your own safety, the minute you feel you are distressed enough to really need a policeman – dial 999.  You will not make the decision as to whether or not a policeman is sent out.  That remains the responsibility of the 999 operator.  If in doubt - think – do I want the help and assistance of the police this very minute !  If so dial the 9’s.

 

2.         You also dial 999 if you witness a ‘crime in progress’.  This could be a burglary, a car being broken into or even criminal damage such as graffiti.  You need to bear in mind that the police will respond to a 999 call at speed.  No-one wants to endanger life on the roads unnecessarily, by making inappropriate calls.  Again – if in doubt and something suspicious is happening in front of you that you believe is connected with crime – dial the 9’s.

 

3.         You return home and find your front door kicked in and believe you have been burgled.  Do you dial 999 ?  That depends upon whether it is a ‘crime in progress’.  If there is possibly someone still in the building, then dial 999.  If it is obvious no-one is there, then it’s 0845 8 505 505

 

4.         To report a crime that has happened – for example, you find your car damaged or broken into – you do not need to go to a police station.  The correct procedure is to phone the PEC and press the number responding to report a crime.  If you do go to a police station to report it, you will be directed to a phone in the reception area.

 

EVERYTHING ELSE - 01865 841148– THE ‘PEC’

 

This number goes through to a call centre with push button controls – to report a crime press 1 etc.  To talk to someone you simply hold on.

 

PLEASE BE AWARE:

There are 4 call centres:

Milton Keynes,

Police Headquarters Kidlington,

Abingdon

Windsor

 

When they respond, they do not say where they are.

 

I recommend:-

1.  You initiate the conversation by asking – ‘Which ‘PEC’ am I speaking to’ ?  This clearly shows you are aware they are a ‘PEC’ – a Police Enquiry Centre and more than that – you know there is more than one.  Please use the jargon PEC.  It helps to speed through your call – you obviously know what you are doing !

 

2.  If you are speaking to Milton Keynes, you know you will have to give the operator more local detail, to help with your call.  Roads in and out, best locations for police cars to approach etc.  Give them the benefit of your local knowledge.  If you are speaking to Windsor, they will be more aware.

 

3.  There are some preliminaries to go through, before they will ask why you have called.  The Home Office requires that the police record various stats about callers.  To ensure this happens, those pieces of information are asked before you can say why you are calling.  The computer software system used by the call centre is called Command and Control and uses Linux – ie it’s not Windows.  They cannot just press a mouse and zoom round the screen.  It is a black screen with small green text boxes and they have to code tab from one to the other using the F keys in the top line of the key board.  They cannot tab from one box to another, until the previous box has been completed.  Hence you will be asked for your age, date of birth, whether you are male/ female, and your ethnic status before anyone asks why you have called.  You cannot bypass this information; the computer will not allow it, so go with it, be prepared for this and answer the preliminary questions quickly and clearly.  It will help you get to the free text part where you can explain why you have called.

 

4.  Say in this first conversation that you are a member of Neighbourhood Watch if you are.  The courts recognise NW as a recognised source of intelligence and consequently your identity can be withheld under certain conditions in any proceedings.  You will be asked if you would be prepared to go to court, but you may feel you don’t want to.  This gives you some immunity.  If the defence lawyers insist upon your identity being revealed and the judge feels it is essential.  The police will withdraw the action to protect you.

 

5.  Remember at the end of the conversation to ask for your URN if you have not been given one automatically.  This is a ‘Unique Reference Number’.  If the operator creates a new screen in the Linux Software to record the details of your call, a page number is created – the URN.  It consists of a number and a date.  The system resets itself at midnight back to zero, so the date part is essential.  The call logs stay on the computer and are accessible for 3 months after which they are archived – but can be recalled.  If you want to know what happened as a result of a call to the police, you can contact me, or the PEC and ask.  They will call up the log and go through it with you.  The software automatically adds timings into your call and everything to operator does is therefore recorded.  As you are speak to them they type in the essential point of your call, dispatching cars (identified by a police car number), policemen (identified by a call sign) etc.  All that can be tracked down to the minute.  When a police car arrives at the scene, that will be recorded, as will any action they take.

 

6.  It does not matter that you are speaking to Milton Keynes.  Every police officer in Thames Valley has access to Command and Control on his desk.  We in this area will have it open and any call that comes in automatically appears.  When the operator puts in your post code the computer immediately attaches it to the correct Beat Code which we can see here.  You may be speaking to an operator in Milton Keynes, but a policeman in Windsor Police Station is watching the screen and accepts the call and could be dealing with it, whilst you are still talking.  There is no time delay.  It is a ‘virtual room’ to which all police officers have immediate instant access.

 

7.  If you call requires a police response, I would suggest you say that you would like the attending officer to phone you, as soon as he arrives to deal with the matter to offer you reassurance.  You can add that he is not to park outside your house, but somewhere discrete.  All police officers have a job mobile phone and can do this.  Doing this, enables you to give them additional information when they arrive.  The issue may have moved away or someone may hide when they hear the police car approaching and you can inform the attending officer of this.  Often if it is late at night, you may have phoned through for example, about a suspicious person in the road.  If you do, you will need to give a good description.  By the time the police arrive, he may well have moved on.  The police then carry out an ‘Area Search’ looking for the person you have described, to have a word with them.  You may be sitting at home worrying that nothing has happened, but the police are in fact further down the road dealing with your issue.  If you ask to be contacted you will be re-assured.

 

8.  This is more important if it is very late at night.  Again, ask to be contacted.  The police will not generally disturb you if it is late or in the early hours to report back.  You may be sitting there worrying.  Say – if my upstairs / front lights are on, I will be waiting up and want to be contacted.  If they are off, I will have gone to bed and I can be contacted in the morning to let me know what happened.  In either of these cases, it’s best to be informed.  Many people phone, hear nothing, assume nothing has happened and are reluctant to phone again.

 

9.  Suspicious incidents.  What is suspicious ?  When should you call ?  Something is suspicious, if it draws your attention.  You live in an area and know the speed cars travel, down the road, the types of cars that park up, the speed people walk etc.  Anything out of the ordinary will draw your attention.  Rely on your instinct.  If you think it is suspicious – it is.  You can say to the PEC, I do not expect a policeman to call; I am simply passing you ‘Intelligence’.  The police want that intelligence – you are their eyes and ears !  A tatty old car parked up with 3 lads inside, may well be out of place in your road.  Phone it through – immediately – while there is still time to do something about it.  Description of make, model and index of car – plus identifying features – dent in front wing, plus details of the occupants.  They may well be parked up in a quiet side road, waiting to do a job somewhere else close by.  If you have phoned the details through and we do get a job nearby – we may well have enough evidence to track down the culprits – think of the jigsaw – you do not know which piece of the puzzle you have – you only know you have a piece.  The vast majority of suspicious cars phoned through by NW members are suspicious and usually on fake plates, or are known to the police.  You get a nose for it.

 

Jeffrey Pick,

NW Administrator RBWM

jeffrey.pick@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk

2008 Ten Tips

1. Fit door locks
Fit front and rear doors with a 5, 6or 7 lever mortice lock.
The front door should also have an automatic deadlocking rim lock.
Fit the rear door with a rim lock and mortice bolts at the top and bottom.

2. Check door standards
If replacing external doors then ensure they comply with British Standard PAS24.
(They have been tested to a minimum security standard and will resist attack.)

3. Fit window locks and check window standards

4. Lock UPVC doors
Make sure you lock UPVC doors with a key even at night.
Do not rely just on lifting the door handle as this does not lock the door
and will leave it vulnerable.
Adapt your house fire plan to take this into consideration.

5. Use burglar alarms
Consider installing a burglar alarm from an NSI or SSAIB registered security finn.
If you have one already fitted, then set it every time the house is empty
and always set the downstairs zone at night.

6. Lock side gates
Keep any side gates locked.
A padlock is often a sufficient deterrent.
Make sure the gate is as near to the front building line as possible.

7. Deter burglars
Fit trellis to the top of all side and rear fencing.
If this is supported by planting prickly shrubs it will make a really efficient
climbing deterrent.

8. Secure tools
Lock all tools away in a shed or garage.
For extra strength, all fittings to exterior wooden gates and sheds
should be fixed with dome-headed coach bolts (not screws).

9. Use security lights
Install dusk to dawn or sensor-operated security lights.
These can be more useful if they can also be operated by a master switch inside the house