Crime & communities
Introducing the new 101 service
101 is the new national telephone number being introduced for community safety issues, including non-emergency crime, policing and anti-social behaviour. It is being launched in three 'waves' across England and Wales. The first wave is going live in 2006 and national roll-out will be achieved by 2008. This guide provides a summary of the new 101 service. It explains what it is, why it is being introduced and provides an overview of how it will work.
Title: Introducing the 101 service
Author: Home Office
Number of pages: 16
Date published: July 2006
Availability:
Download full guide
PDF 231Kb
Around 10 million calls are made to the police 999 emergency service number each year, of which 70% are non-emergencies. Not all problems need an emergency response, but many people call 999 because they do not know who else to ring.
The introduction of 101 for non-emergency situations aims to change this.
In 2008, anyone living in England or Wales will be able to dial 101 and speak directly to a specially trained adviser. 101 will provide better access to non-emergency services, will improve the delivery of non-emergency services, will raise confidence in public services and will free up the 999 emergency service.
101 is a new service that will provide the public with direct access to advice, information and action for community safety issues, including non-emergency crime, policing and anti-social behaviour. The new, easy-to remember, three-digit number will put callers directly in touch with specially trained advisers for non-emergency matters. These advisers will answer enquiries over the phone, giving advice and information where needed, and will arrange for further action to be taken when appropriate.
The service will:
be available 24 hours a day;
have multi-language features;
be accessible via the internet.
When will it be available?
The new service is being rolled out in a series of 'waves', each involving partnerships between police forces and LAs.
In Wave 1 the service is being launched in Hampshire and Isle of Wight, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear, Leicester City and Rutland, Sheffield and Cardiff. It will be available to the public in these areas in summer 2006.
Lessons learned and the evaluation of the first wave areas will feed into the roll-out of the programme.
The second wave will launch in 2007, where possible expanding from the first-wave sites and allowing for resource sharing. National roll-out will be achieved by 2008, following full testing of the service delivery and systems.
What will it cover?
The initial scope of the 101 service has been developed through research to find out what the public wanted the service to include, and consultation with a wide range of stakeholders and local authority and police force partnerships.
This 'core' service covers:
vandalism, graffiti and other deliberate damage to property
noisy neighbours
intimidation and harassment
abandoned vehicles
rubbish and litter, including fly tipping
people being drunk or rowdy in public spaces
drug-related anti-social behaviour
street lighting.
Further information
For further information you can either
download Introducing the 101 service
PDF 231Kb, or telephone the 101 Programme Team on 020 7035 0047 or 020 7035 1028.
Last update: 14 July 2006