Do you know how to contact Sussex Police?
Sussex Police has developed two 90 second animations to educate members of the community on the best ways to contact the police.
It is hoped that the animations will get the public to think more about the circumstances when they need the police so that their issue can be dealt with by the right person the first time they call thus saving everyone time, resources and effort.
Assistant Chief Constable Laurence Taylor said: “I cannot stress how important it is that members of the public use the correct ways to contact the police. We still receive 999 calls that are not emergencies but on the flip side, also receive calls reporting crime on our local district numbers - which are intended for local concerns - where the member of the public should have dialled 999.
“For the public to know which channel to use in the first place, will support our commitment to keep our communities safe and feeling safe.
“Misplaced calls could endanger life, and mean we are not getting to where we need to be and protecting the most vulnerable.
“We want to make it clearer for people to get in touch with us in the most appropriate way.
"If you know who to call or contact, this will save you time by ensuring you speak to the correct person or organisation in the first instance.
”We have had to change the way we do things and the precept is now allowing us to strengthen local policing. This includes improving ways for the public to contact the police about non-emergency matters in ways that are convenient to them, including a new online portal for reporting incidents and contacting the police.”
Sussex Police deals with more than 70,000 contacts per month. On average around 580 emergency calls are made per day. These numbers continue to rise on a yearly basis and it is becoming increasingly important that people only call 999 in an emergency.
The non-emergency line, 101, recieves more than 1,150 calls per day with some of these calls, such as those being made around parking issues, being redirected to more appropriate organisations.
Whilst 101 is the correct number to call for non-emergency issues, if there is no need to speak with someone directly then reporting online can help save you time. If a response is required your enquiry will be actioned within 24 hours.
The ways to contact Sussex Police via their website are:
• Report online https://sussex.police.uk/contact-us/report-online/
• If it is a local community enquiry contact your local policing team - for Brighton and Hove see at https://www.sussex.police.uk/brighton-and-hove/. To find your local team, visit this page https://sussex.police.uk/contact-us/
• Other accessible contact methods for those with hearing or speech impairment https://sussex.police.uk/contact-us/accessible-contact-methods/
Other services available online include:
• Make a complaint or give the police feedback https://sussex.police.uk/contact-us/make-a-complaint-or-give-us-feedback/
• Access information on for example ASB, Burglary, theft https://sussex.police.uk/advice/
• Report a hate crime https://sussex.police.uk/advice/protect-yourself-and-others/hate-crime/
• Make a general enquiry https://sussex.police.uk/advice/
• If you are calling in regard to the following; these are issues you need to speak to your local council about fly tipping, rubbish and bins. Noise nuisance is not a police matter. You need to contact your local council https://sussex.police.uk/contact-us/report-online/report-noise-nuisance/
For more information on this please see the Sussex Police website.