From knowing when an AFL match starts to complaining about rubbish removals, emergency call operators have revealed the ridiculous reasons people are dialing Triple Zero.
Queensland Police found almost 90 per cent of emergency calls last year were not ‘genuine emergencies’.
Many callers were considered hoax or nuisance calls as people were complaining about knocked over garbage bins or leaking taps.
From people reporting leaking taps to noise complaints, emergency call operators (stock image) have revealed the ridiculous reasons people are dialing Triple Zero
Many callers were considered hoax or nuisance calls as people were complaining about knocked over garbage bins (stocked image) or leaking taps
Some people called the emergency line asking what day of the week it was, to complain about someone playing loud music on a train, checking to see what time Blue Heelers would be on television and to try and order a pizza.
‘One person was having difficulty with a pay phone and wanted to order a cab,’ a Queensland Police spokesperson claimed.
Power outages and calling to see what time the football started were among the lengthy list of complaints made in the last 12 months, according to The West.
One man with mental health issues made more than 5000 of the hoax calls in Western Australia throughout the last three years.
‘We understand that from time to time there are going to be (examples like) elderly people, with noises in the night that are no doubt terrifying them, and we don’t want to discourage people calling the police,’ WA Police superintendent Ricky Chadwick told the publication.
Throughout Queensland, authorities received 612,250 calls in 2017 but a huge portion were not ‘true emergencies’ .
At least 28,800 of those calls were deemed ‘no voice’ calls meaning it was a simple pocket dial or children had accidentally dialed the number as they played on a phone.
‘The influx of non-emergency calls ties up police operators and we need to allow for genuine emergencies to ring true,’ Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan said.
‘If a crime’s happening now, call Triple Zero, but if not, think Policelink (the website).’
Many people even called the emergency line to check what time an AFL match was starting (pictured) where almost 90 per cent of calls were ‘not genuine’ last year in Queensland