Think carefully before you call Triple Zero

A policeman is seen on his phone at the scene of the car accident on June 07, 2020 in Townsville, Australia. Source: Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images

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The police urge people in Australia to save Triple Zero (000) for emergencies only and contact the police for non-urgent incidents through other assistance lines. If your call to Triple Zero is not for an emergency, you might be delaying people in life-threatening situations from getting help in time.

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Think carefully before you call Triple Zero
SBS Filipino
06/07/202208:20

In Australia, Triple Zero (000) is a national emergency service number that you can call for an ambulance, fire services, or police when you are in a life-threatening or time-critical emergency.

In 2019-2022 there were over 7,600 calls a day to Triple Zero in Victoria alone, or one call every 11 seconds, according to Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA).

Highlights

You should only call Triple Zero (000) in a life-threatening or time-critical emergency.
To contact the police for non-urgent incidents, call the Police Assistance Line (131 444).
There are tools on mobile phones to help you identify your location quickly and accurately when requesting emergency help.

Senior Sergeant Kristy Walters, Director of PoliceLink of NSW Police, says that people can help in reducing the volume of calls to Triple Zero by calling in emergencies only and reporting non-urgent incidents to Police Assistance Line on 131 444 instead.

If we are talking to someone and responding to their non-urgent inquiry, that means our emergency calls are waiting and can't get through as quickly as we would like.

It's certainly about creating awareness in the community about when to call [Triple Zero] and inform the community about the other non-emergency lines.

Lastly, Acting Sergeant Katie Fish, from Police Assistance Line and the online reporting team in Victoria reminds everyone to think carefully before calling Triple Zero.

If we can keep triple zero for emergencies or incidents that are happening now, that’s going to save lives.

If you're not sure and you don't think it's an emergency, ring 131 444, and the operator will be able to assist you and will make the decision for you.

For more information, visit

www.triplezero.gov.au

For interpreting services, call 131 450.

For domestic violence, help call 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732)

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