Hogging the line is definitely not funny – this is the message the City of Cape Town sent to residents after its emergency call centre recorded a 153% spike in prank calls, Cape {town} Etc reports.
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The number of prank calls to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre has steadily increased over the past month. A total of 104 prank calls were recorded over the past weekend, compared to 41 four weeks ago.
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‘These nuisance calls hog the lines, and that extra time that a caller with a real emergency has to spend waiting, could mean the difference between life and death, or a criminal getting away,’ said JP Smith, the City’s Mayco member for safety and security.
‘And, while many prank callers consider themselves would-be comedians, some are downright abusive. The nature of an emergency call taker’s job already comes with a lot of trauma and stress, and so prank calls really aren’t as funny as the callers might think.’
He adds that the prank callers are not always children. ‘Sadly, many adults make themselves guilty of it. However, as we head into the school holidays, I want to urge parents to please talk to the children about the potentially serious repercussions that can come from meddling with the emergency services.’
The centre recorded 1 679 incidents this weekend, compared to 1 424 the previous weekend. About 118 calls for help pertained to cases of assault, 37 for domestic violence, 62 motor vehicle and pedestrian accidents and 199 noise nuisance complaints.
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Picture: JP Smith / Facebook
