A THURROCK woman has received a conditional caution following her arrest, after repeatedly calling Essex Police's contact management centre.

The 51-year-old woman from Tilbury called 999, 165 times within a three month period with none of these calls requiring a response from police. During these calls, call handlers were also subjected to verbal abuse.

She was arrested yesterday (Wednesday, 9 March) on suspicion of sending a false message by public electronic network to cause annoyance and sending communications of an offensive nature.

Following interview, she was issued with a conditional caution.

Superintendent Jamie Gingell said "Our Force Control Room and Resolution Centre deal with thousands of calls every week and work efficiently to get support to those who need it.

"I hope this arrest proves that we will not tolerate any abuse to our officers and staff and we do not condone anyone who intentionally wastes police time. 

"Unfortunately, a lot of the calls we get to 999 do not require an emergency response.

"On top of this, we also deal with an extremely high number of 101 calls, which often means there is a wait time for those trying to get through to us. I'd encourage the public to report incidents online to us which is straight forward and can be done right away." 

A statement from Essex Police adds: "We need you to #HelpUsHelpYou. If it is not an emergency and the crime you wish to speak to us about is not happening right now, please do not call 999. Instead, you can report this online, you can use our online Live Chat service or call us on 101. 

"On average around 80% of the 999 calls we receive could have been dealt with better using one of these methods, leaving our emergency call takers free to help those who urgently need it.

"You can report a number of different non-emergencies online including stolen vehicles, antisocial behaviour and civil disputes.

"You can also report online historical crimes, lost property or to give us information about something you have seen or heard that is of concern."