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Police Shame Pranksters On YouTube

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the because-they-can dept.

Barence writes "British police are shaming hoax 999 callers and time-wasters on YouTube in an effort to cut down on non-emergency calls. Video clips uploaded include a lady phoning police to ask what year the internet started, the dramatic tale of a man whose wife would only provide salmon sandwiches for lunch, and another worried soul who had lost her glasses and could not see properly to peel potatoes. Anyone else think the chance of YouTube fame is more likely to encourage copycats than educate people about the wrongs of hoax calling?"

6 of 390 comments (clear)

  1. Not a bad idea by neokushan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's not a bad idea, but as the summary theorised, it's just going to create a bunch of copycats.
    What they should do is list how much each person has been charged for these hoax calls to hammer home that it just wont be tolerated.
    It makes me sick when people waste the Emergency service's time like this and I genuinely believe they should all be harshly punished for it - people's lives are at stake, there's no excuse.

    --
    +1 IDisagreeSoHeMustBeATrollOrAnAstroturferOrAShill
    1. Re:Not a bad idea by Alsee · · Score: 3, Interesting

      fly tipping

      I (and probably most non-Brits) was rather puzzled by that phrase. All I could think of was cow tipping. LOL. So I looked it up:

      Fly-tipping or dumping is a British term for illegally dumping waste somewhere other than an authorised landfill.

      And I came across this hysterical news item of a man threatened with prosecution under the Fly Tipping law:
      threatened with prison or a £50,000 fine if he takes windblown sand back to the beach.
      Oh christ, some government official being just a wee bit anal-retentive with the law there.

      And I love this part: Offenders can also have their vehicle - in this case a wheelbarrow - confiscated.

      I can just see some five-year-old having their tricycle confiscated for playing with a plastic pail of sand and pouring it on the beach. Damn Fly Tippers.

      -

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      - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
  2. How about a dead mouse on a porch? by grasshoppa · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Except it wasn't a prank. The lady actually believed she could call the cops to get a dead mouse off her porch.

    A friend of mine was the dispatcher who took the call, and he kept the recording.

    --
    Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
  3. What comes around goes around... by geekmux · · Score: 3, Interesting
    (5 years later)"Well, we would like to hire you in our call center, but it seems our background check shows you being a Dumb Ass(TM) a few years ago."

    TM Copyright Red Forman Inc.

  4. Re:TRUFAX. by Dancindan84 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    People have no respect for anyone any more, themselves included. If they want them to stop they should hit them where it hurts, in their wallet. Even a small $50 fine for a non-emergency 999/911 call would be enough to deter pranksters.

    --
    "Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde
  5. Re:Bloody Brilliant Idea by xaxa · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Sorry, I thought we were talking about Britain - you know, the country that helped the US to invade and occupy Afghanistan and Iraq.

    At all times, Britain seems to me to have had less support from its people for either the Afghanistan or Iraq wars than America had from its people.

    The country with a long and ongoing history of international aggression. Falklands War ring a bell?

    (Argentina started that one, I don't think you can blame Britain for defending a territory held for 160 years.)