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Police Shame Pranksters On YouTube
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?"
Let's start a channel to isolate these hooligans. Keep them all in one place, for our own efficient comic consump-.... I mean, to prevent their debauchery from spreading throughout all of YouTube! (Yeah. Right?)
Informatus Technologicus
Is it just me, or is England already well down the spiral towards "What the Fuck are you Thinking, Nation?"
Edward@Tomato - /home/Edward/ man woman
man: no entry for woman in the manual.
"Qua!?"
If anything, the prank callers should be given less attention. That being said, the videos are hilarious, and I want more of them.
I want to go make a prank emergency call too! :D
Anyone else think the chance of YouTube fame is more likely to encourage copycats than educate people about the wrongs of hoax calling?
Yes, because there was certainly no such thing as prank phone calls before Youtube came along.
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
Anyone else think that British Police *is* the one going after Youtube fame because they weren't getting enough channel views?
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
My ISP is slow, and I can't download those videos fast enough. Is there anyone I can call for help?
These 14 year old twits are looking for attention so the cops are giving them international exposure... That couldn't possibly backfire and have the exact opposite outcome... Seriously, if the cops can't understand the very simple and basic motivation of pranksters, what does that say for their ability to understand criminals?...
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!
The salmon sandwiches are left over from last night! Oh no!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pCuWcM0kq2U
Anyone else think the chance of YouTube fame is more likely to encourage copycats than educate people about the wrongs of hoax calling?
For people who intentionally timewaste, maybe, but if there are really people who think it's normal to use 999 for some trivial matter, then raising awareness like this may be useful (though perhaps there is the danger that although it might reduce ignorance, it might increase people who intentionally pretend to be ignorant for a joke).
I haven't looked at these videos, but they have done this sort of thing before on their own sites - one thing that struck me was just how long the operators remain on the call, in some cases getting into a long drawn out discussion about it. If timewasting is such a problem, why not hang up straight away, or press a button to play a recorded message?
I'm also curious how likely this is to be a problem - the usual problem with hoax calls is that a police/ambulance is sent out unnecessarily, but that doesn't apply here. If the volume of calls is so large that it's common for people to wait in a queue to be answered, wouldn't it be worthwhile to, you know, hire some more operators?
The cost of these timewasters should be the cost of the person's time who was employed to answer the call. If the cost is someone's life, then something's wrong with the system.
How can you shame anyone posting to one of the lagest shameless places on the net?
Are you talking about youtube or slashdot?
TM Copyright Red Forman Inc.
I haven't RTFM, but having worked with paranoid schizophrenics and Alzheimer's sufferers in the past, I would bet that some of these "pranksters" may actually be mentally ill; I hope our public servants are at least screening these individuals before humiliating them on YouTube.
body massage!
Track down the caller's number.
Call them back in a few weeks.
Tell them that you're calling from the hospital and that their parents are dead.
I don't think the intertubes are big enough to post phone calls of all the asshats in the world. I mean it's not like a truck or anything.
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
The last bit of each segments should list the charges/fines against the person who called.
Examples:
Called 911 for a tuna sandwich, $400 fine.
Called 911 for the capital of Spain, 2 weeks community service.
Sure the internet notoriety might get some to call but it could be balanced by showing the penalty applied.
From TFA, this appears to be being done only by Avon and Somerset Police. Something most people aren't aware of is that the 43 ("geographical") police forces of England and Wales (there are a number of "non-geographical" ones too, such as British Transport Police) are essentially separate companies. Or at least they were 2 years ago when I was working on a project to assist in inter-force information sharing.
The point being that you'll very often find a given force doing something that none of the rest are, as apparently is the case here. So yes, "British police" are doing this, but only in two counties.
It's official. Most of you are morons.
You, sir, are an idiot. I know Slashdotters love worthless hyperbole, but if you would seriously even THINK about letting somebody DIE because you--what, don't want people to hear your voice?--then you're simply a worthless human being. Period.
Privacy my ass.
This is a mental health issue, and a stupid way of dealing with it. I work in a Public Defender's Office, and while I am sure some of these people are jerks, my experience has been that people who call emergency services with these kinds of requests often have mental health issues. That is why a lot of jurisdictions have mental health diversionary programs for people who commit minor offenses. Embarassing the mentally ill on the internet will only embolden them at best, but certainly not help them deal with their issues in any way. In that regard, this solution seems rather callous.
I see no reason why these calls should be placed on line. I would expect them to respect my privacy, but instead they post in online without my consent.
911 calls are the 'hue and cry' of the modern age. I don't know the exact rules (I think they vary), but I believe that most consider them to be public records. Sure, names and addresses should be censored (if not already, I of course am exercising my rght not to RTFA), at least for legitimate criminal complaints. The time wasters on the other hand, I believe need to be publicly flogged, and have their phone number listed; Imagine the fun civic minded pranksters could have with these fools. However I'm willing to accept that that's over the top, and allow even the ignorant their anonymity, if they don't prosecute.
The grass is only greener, if you don't take care of your own lawn.
One researcher in the field apparently claimed "Nothing works" before killing himself (didn't catch his name).
It seemed to be the general consensus, some groups commit crime, we understand a few of the causes but not yet all but are powerless to really affect it.
It doesn't matter if you hang everyone or send them of with a stern look, crime figures all over the world are roughly similar.
The most effective way to stop crime? Tech that stops the crime before it can happen. You can't stop people from wanting to be criminals and you can't stop them once they are but if they can't actually commit the crime you stopped them nonetheless.
But all in all, people been looking for a solution for a 100 years and still there isn't one.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
That'll teach him.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Damn right I'd consider someone in that situation to be a struggling homeowner...you think furnishing my $625,000 place is cheap? I need all the help I can get!
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to decide if I want to take the hybrid, the SUV or the hybrid SUV to the unemployment office.
Take your rants someplace where people give a fuck, dipshit.
I had the misfortune to work on the phone in a UK police force's operations room. A memorable call: An old man called, sounding shocked and very upset indeed. He wanted to report being assaulted. He asked me if I'd seen the nearby circus. I confirmed I had, having noticed it the day before while out on my bicycle. Despite having recently completed my diversity training I immediately thought of all those nomadic, thieving, rough, stop at nothing, gypsy types, with swarthy complexions, switchblades and unwashed hair. I pictured the poor old man being relieved of his wallet and candyfloss at knifepoint and, assuming my most professional and concerned tone, asked him to continue. He explained that he had been to the circus the previous evening and was sitting in the front row when one of the clowns threw cold water over him. I didn't directly call him a stupid miserable old bastard but I think he got the message. I've also taken a call from a woman who wished to report that the milkman when making his early morning deliveries allowed the glass milk bottles to clang together noisily in order to cause harassment/annoyance to the caller. Referred caller to dairy. Seriously the UK is overflowing with fucking idiots. people call the police because the kitchen tap is dripping, the TV remote control doesn't work, their cable TV reception has worsened or any other trivial crap that might count as an emergency if you have the mental age and outlook of a retarded 4 year old. The flipside is the idiots who call the non-emergency number, wait in a queue for a while, and when connected announce they're watching someone being stabbed/beaten/robbed and so on. I guess at least they tried to help instead of doing nothing.
That's simply what it can be sumed up as. People don't give a fuck what you think about them. Yeah, I'm a moron, I'm stupid and I act like it, but I'm rich and famous, so I win. The Homer Simpson principle.
Could you imagine something like American Idol taking off, say, 30 years ago? People would've been scared to make a fool out of themselves. At the very least, the people trying their hand there would have been a lot lower and only people who could credibly or at least intelligibly sing would try. Ok, since people have no shame, at least the auditions there provide some entertainment (yes, one of my guilty pleasures is to enjoy it when people make a complete tool out of themselves).
How about lawsuits where the plaintiff acted quite obviously in such a stupid way that yes, there was no warning label because nobody thought anyone could be so utterly and completely stupid and still manage to live to the age of 18? 30 years ago, people would have accepted the damage for their own stupidity than the shame that they were actually SO stupid. But, like I said, no shame anymore, and there's money in it.
Fuck, offer people 10 bucks to run down naked some street and they do it! Been proven time and again by some TV shows.
Still, I do consider those movies a good thing, because there are still people who have a sense of decency and don't want to bother emergency lines with minor sicknesses, who then prompty die because what they felt as minor turned out to be major. Showing such movies to them would probably tell them that they should call 999 (or 911, or whatever your number may be) when they feel a little chest pain instead of just lying down and hoping it goes away. When there are so many people calling with utter BULLSHIT, it's by far not uncalled for to dial emergency services for a "little", but real, problem. That's what they were invented for.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
The perps had burgled him previously
There is no evidence that I have seen to prove that he was burgled by the SAME individuals. He had been burgled, that is true, but during the trial he was asked what measures he had taken to prevent further break-ins. He had taken none. So living in an isolated place, known to have some money, taking no protective measures around his property. Crime is never justified but it is not surprising in this case that he was burgled more than once.
....and restore your God given rights.
Which God would that be? If it's the Christian God that you are referring to, which of the Ten Commandments mentions that you can shoot people. I do recall 'Thou shalt not kill', but I cannot remember one suggesting that you can shoot burglars. Perhaps I wasn't paying enough attention last time I went to Church.
Your 'rights' regarding firearms are nothing more than a throwback to the Wild West and the events that followed during the formative years of your nation. However, I stopped thinking that I was a cowboy when I grew up. You are entitled, both individually and as a Nation, to continue to carry weapons but please don't think less of others because they choose not to.
Martin did not make a stand for justice. After the event he hid the weapon at his mother's house (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Martin_(farmer)). He can hardly claim that he did not know that he was committing a crime if he went so far as to try to hide the weapon. His defence successfully used the excuse that 'Martin suffered paranoid personality disorder'. So, nobody was claiming that he was making a stand but simply that he had killed without justification (under our law - not yours) and therefore should be punished accordingly. The defence, as is their job, managed to get the sentence reduced.
From the wiki-link: The jury at the trial were told that they had the option of returning a verdict of manslaughter, rather than murder, if they thought that Martin "did not intend to kill or cause serious bodily harm". However, they found Martin guilty of murder by a 10 to 2 majority. He was sentenced to life in prison, the mandatory sentence for murder under English law.
I do not agree with your point of view. Ten members of the 12 man jury disagree with you also. The other 2 are welcome to emigrate to the USA, if they haven't already done so. :-)
Have a look at soylentnews.org for a different view