Perhaps they could run ads in newspapers with the photos and phone #s of cops.

Drunk dials to the cops in 5...4...3...2...

If only there was some way to implement a common, easy to remember phone number to reach your police department.

FTA: It went to a voicemail service that stressed: "This line should not be used for emergencies or to report incidents of an important nature or that require prompt attention."

What's the point of this then?

*slaps forehead*

Isn't this why we have 999? Surely the only reason to call an individual policeman would be to heap entertaining abuse on him.

Yes, thinking about it, bring it on.

I like long walks on the beach and picnics under the stars. If you would like me to arrest you call me at +44 20 73768787.

Silly neonfish07, that isn't a mobile code

/ruining jokes since 1647

Not only that, I'm also too retarded to turn off bold.

Hello? Hello? Yes. Sorry I can't come to the phone right now.
.
.
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I'm dead. Please leave a message after the beep!

I don't understand. If every other working stiff in the world can be contacted by their boss or clients at any time by cell phone, why not the cops?

and if the situation here in Thailand is any gauge (which it isn't), the bobbies' tight uniforms and shiny boots will get them no end of gay and sometimes straight booty calls. Everyone wins.

Well this scheme is remarkably unintelligent.

albtraum: I don't understand. If every other working stiff in the world can be contacted by their boss or clients at any time by cell phone, why not the cops?

The issue isn't being contacted by their boss, It's about being contacted by every "I HATE PIGS" jackass in the UK.

Siamese Bream: Isn't this why we have 999? Surely the only reason to call an individual policeman would be to heap entertaining abuse on him.

Yes, thinking about it, bring it on.

999 is for emergencies only. If there is a disturbance, vandalism or any other sort crime where an immediate response is not required there should be another number to call instead of having to look up your local police station number.

It's ok, these aren't real cops, they're community safety officers. They wear bright vests and don't do much of anything.

In about 1 1/2 years, all of our cell phone numbers and GPS locations are going to be clearly visible to everyone who we work with. What exactly is the problem with having the police involved in that trend?

They survived driving around in cars painted in special colors. They survived wearing brightly colored uniforms that identified them. They survived patrolling England with clubs when any criminal could get a gun for a couple of decades. I think they'll survive people knowing their cell phone numbers.

I hate unions but they've got my support on this one.

IKillBugs -

Online/phone harassment is much more easily traceable than old-fashioned harassment. Why would Johnny Facebook call a cop on his cell phone just to shout insults at him? Kids these days know that they can be traced. Online/telephony is as authentic an interactive space as in person. Honestly, I think everyone in a couple of years will have an online presence that's SAFER from trolling and insults than their physical person, including cops.

Faddy



999 is for emergencies only. If there is a disturbance, vandalism or any other sort crime where an immediate response is not required there should be another number to call instead of having to look up your local police station number.

So you'll have to look up the mobile number of a particular policeman who might be off duty? Unless you've got it saved on your phone, but it strikes me that the kind of person who'd bother to save a policeman's mobile number would probably have the police station's anyway. Still, it can't do any harm, so if the officers are fine with it then carry on.

albtraum: Online/phone harassment is much more easily traceable than old-fashioned harassment. Why would Johnny Facebook call a cop on his cell phone just to shout insults at him? Kids these days know that they can be traced.

There are plenty of idiots out there.
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I was wondering why "Dial-A-Booby" was asinine, but then I read the headline again.

Siamese Bream: Isn't this why we have 999? Surely the only reason to call an individual policeman would be to heap entertaining abuse on him.

Yes, thinking about it, bring it on.

Yeah, we have 911 for emergencies and 311 for non emergencies. Very simple. I called 311 about a month ago when a wire was hanging off a pole into the alley (where previously there wasn't a wire). The electric company came and took care of it later that day, then they taught me to read.

WTF is a bobby?

So, anybody have the personal number for 'Home Secretary Jacqui Smith'? -- it's all about 'getting closer to the people', right ??

/approves

Firefly4F4: I was wondering why "Dial-A-Booby" was asinine, but then I read the headline again.

lol..I was right there with ya on that one.

I have a cunning plan...

OK, this isn't as mad as it seems.
UK police are scrapping their old radio network and moving onto a digital system called Airwave based on secure O2 cellphones that can be tied together into subnets.

The phone-a-bobby scheme will route calls to these handsets, if a number gets abused it will be withdrawn, or rerouted, without effecting the use of the cops handset.

Airwave is beset with problems of its own.
The cops now have to pay for every use of the handsets both voice and data, compared to the older radio sets that were free to use.
They are very weak comared to the older system, dont work in places like the London Underground without repeaters, and a lot of buildings render them useless.

czarangelus: Let's see. Cell phones also record your location in GPS coordinates, even if you turn the locater beacon to E911 only. So conceivably, a good hacker could determine where all the cops were in the city, and plan a truly spectacular robbery or ambush.

Or, conceivably, spend a day or two scoping out policemen's whereabouts without resorting to an high-tech Rube Goldberg system.

Or stage a diversion.

But yeah if you're going to be effectively on call 24/7, they need a pay raise, and guaranteed down time. And effective prosecution of idiots, drunks, and cop-baiters who will inevitably abuse the system.

Funny, given that every citizen's identity and privacy are automatically void under United Kingdom laws now, perhaps the policemen ought to remember that despite the authority entrusted to them by the people, that they indeed are public citizens too.

If the policemen don't like being called at home by any citizen of the nation, then perhaps they ought to void the laws that apply to every citizen in regards to willful violations of their privacy and humanity.

No law should apply to the public citizenry that does not apply without exception to the people in positions of authority. Any public authority that declares the unhindered right to spy on any citizen through public cameras or private Internet or private phone tapping must also allow the public citizenry to spy on itself in an identical unhindered manner.

A nation of just & fair laws made by the people for the service of the interests of the people.

albtraum
If every other working stiff in the world can be contacted by their boss or clients at any time by cell phone, why not the cops?

Yeah, your boss should know your phone number. But there's no reason why most "clients" should be able to call you 24/7. Waiters, cancer researchers, secretaries, bus drivers, teachers, computer programmers, janitors... If you need to speak with a cop then you should just call the police station.

In about 1 1/2 years, all of our cell phone numbers and GPS locations are going to be clearly visible to everyone who we work with.

No.

Online/phone harassment is much more easily traceable than old-fashioned harassment.

But it's also much easier.

Faddy
If there is a disturbance, vandalism or any other sort crime where an immediate response is not required there should be another number to call instead of having to look up your local police station number.

So instead of looking for the police station's phone number you just end up looking for a specific cops phone number.

Gridlock
Funny, given that every citizen's identity and privacy are automatically void under United Kingdom laws now, perhaps the policemen ought to remember that despite the authority entrusted to them by the people, that they indeed are public citizens too.

Public citizens are entitled to the privacy of an unlisted phone number.

Did someone say "Bobby?"

albtraum: I don't understand. If every other working stiff in the world can be contacted by their boss or clients at any time by cell phone, why not the cops?


Awesome comparison, flawless reasoning.

As a former resident cop and current Community Policing instructor, I understand what the goal is in this scheme. It's just unfortunate that those that have promoted the scheme seem to have no real world experience with the public.

Local police station numbers: Good.
Local police officer numbers: Weeks of wasted time per year.

If you want to put a face to your police officer, let him/her do their job.

/Be careful where you set down your Masters degree, the ink is still wet and we wouldn't want it to smudge.

Gridlock: perhaps the policemen ought to remember that despite the authority entrusted to them by the people, that they indeed are public citizens too.

bzzzzzt wrong. when police officers are on duty they are agents of the state and not citizens. when they are off duty they are normal citizens though.

Kunochan:

You wouldn't know a cunning plan if it painted itself purple and danced naked on top of a harpsichord singing "Cunning Plans Are Here Again".

/Yeah, I know...it is "subtle plans", but I'll run with it anyway.

czarangelus: Let's see. Cell phones also record your location in GPS coordinates, even if you turn the locater beacon to E911 only. So conceivably, a good hacker could determine where all the cops were in the city, and plan a truly spectacular robbery or ambush.



But that would be unethical.

Goodfella: czarangelus: Let's see. Cell phones also record your location in GPS coordinates, even if you turn the locater beacon to E911 only. So conceivably, a good hacker could determine where all the cops were in the city, and plan a truly spectacular robbery or ambush.



But that would be unethical.

But so is hacking computers to run botnets yet you still see russian teenagers doing that.

Did anyone else read that as "Dial a Booby"?

Kunochan: I have a cunning plan...

You wouldn't recognize a cunning plan if it were jumping up and down on a harpsichord whilst singing "cunning plans are here again".

+1 for subby

/I lol'd