FRoM CoMMissioneR ATKinson - Queensland Police Service ...

A lifeline for
emergency situations
When faced with a dangerous
or life threatening situation,
the first thing most people do
is call Triple Zero (000)—the
lifeline from the public to
the appropriate emergency
service.
When callers request the
police, they are connected
to a Police Communications
Centre (PCC), an emergency
hub located in every major
city throughout Queensland.
These call centres are staffed
24 hours a day by both police
officers and civilian staff
who are trained to deal with
high stress and confronting
situations.
Inspector Paul Fogg, Officerin-Charge
of the Brisbane
PCC, said they were always
striving to provide their
clients with the best possible
service.
“PCC staff display a very high
degree of professionalism and
a broad range of legislative
knowledge and advanced
computer skills,” Inspector
Fogg said.
“The fast paced environment
of the PCC requires a highly
trained professional staff to
maintain the high standards
expected.”
Inspector Fogg said it wasn’t
commonly known that
members of the PCC not
only assisted members of the
public, but also police officers
in need of urgent information.
“Many people outside the
QPS may not be aware how
important our centre is for
other police officers as well
as the public. Officers use the
PCC to receive job taskings
and provide information vital
to their own safety,” he said.
With such a vital service to
provide, PCC operators can
sometimes become frustrated
when callers abuse the Triple
Zero (000) service. Operators
report that non-essential
calls, such as a request for a
ride home after a night out in
town or advice on what to do
about kids playing cricket in
the dog park, occur almost on
a daily basis.
Carmen Cheng, who has
been a civilian communication
room operator for 18 months,
said non-essential calls
hindered the important work
performed in the PCC.
“It is very rewarding when
you are helping someone
in need, however it makes
our job much more stressful
when people ring up for
silly reasons, when you
know someone with a true
emergency call might be
trying to get through,” Ms
Cheng said.
“Often people who call Triple
Zero (000) do need police
assistance, but it is not an
emergency. In this instance
they should look up the
number of their local police
station. Sometimes we even
get calls from people to ask
what their local police station
number is.”
Many people that misuse
the service are affected by
alcohol, young children, suffer
from mental illness or are
simply pranksters.
As far as the pranksters go,
police officers in the PCC
have the ability to identify
callers. If a caller abuses
the Triple Zero (000) service
repeatedly, they can face
legal proceedings.
Inspector Fogg said that
members of the public could
assist by undertaking several
simple actions.
“Program the number for
the nearest police station
into your mobile phone and
house phone, put the number
on the fridge, and educate
children in the appropriate
use of Triple Zero.
“Implementing these
measures will help to ease
some of the pressure on staff,
and allow police to assist
people in an emergency more
quickly.
“The people of Queensland
are our clients and we want to
ensure we are serving them
efficiently,” he said.
By Claire Hauser,
Media and Public Affairs Branch
The Duty Officer and State Duty
Officer monitoring the Brisbane Police
Communications Centre.
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