A report by the Independent Police Complaints Comission showed that rudeness topped the list of reasons for complaints about Dorset Police. This was echoed by victims of crime groups across the county. Mark Fuller called the police after a large quantity of tissue caused his toilet to overflow, and was shocked by the reaction he received.
"First of all, the operator when I called 999 was incredibly rude, telling me that the Police wouldn't deal with it. She fobbed me off by trying to get me to call a plumber. I said 'This is an emergency line? Well this is an emergency!' and she put the phone down on me. I mean, really. It's unacceptable in this day and age."
"A hole in your shirt is NOT an emergency!"
We also spoke to a lady from Springbourne, who did not want to be identified. She called Dorset Police last December so she could speak to a police officer: "I just needed the company, to be fair. My family went to Spain for Christmas and left me a microwaveable turkey dinner, and I needed someone to talk to so I didn't go crazy. After all, that would be an emergency, surely? But all the man on the phone said was 'You are wasting our time'. I mean, what else could they possibly have to do on Christmas Eve?"
But a spokesman for Dorset Police said: "Oh, for.... Look. We don't mean to be rude, but if you keep on calling us up with trivial crap, we're going to be slightly annoyed. By all means, call us if you have a theft, attack, vandalism, anything like that. But don't call me to peel your orange, or get your cat down from a tree. Because I will slap you across the face."
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