Northumbria Police call handlers are urging the public to think before they dial 999.
It comes after the force has seen a 40% rise in the number of 999 calls from January to May this year compared to the same period last year. This means that call handlers have already received 113,000 calls so far this year, but every month Northumbria Police says it receives more than 1,000 calls from people who shouldn't be contacting the police.
Now, as call handlers gear up for what they expect to be a busy Bank Holiday weekend, people are being urged to think about whether it really is an emergency before they ring 999.
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Northumbria Police call handler Sophia Chisholm, 21, says using other services such as 101 or the police website when it is not an emergency will help to free up phone lines so she can take vital 999 calls.
"We take thousands of calls a week," she said.
"It is tough and it is a big strain. [Especially when] some of the calls aren't necessarily for the police. Some of the calls are for other agencies or common knowledge things, so it is quite a strain.
"One call I get quite often is someone's been on a night out, lost their keys, and can't get in the house and they want the police to come and get them in. We also get calls for fires where the person has not phoned the fire service, they've phoned the police.
"So quite often we are directing people to the correct agency and service as well."
Every day, Sophia and her colleagues in Northumbria Police's control room receive an average total of 840 calls to 999 and 1,100 calls to 101. Last year the force has 269,769 calls to 999 compared to 221,496 in 2020, with factors such as the easing of lockdown restrictions contributing to the rise.
Sophia says she has noticed a huge rise in the number of calls she is dealing with since starting her role two years ago.
"When I first started it was a very different environment to how it is now in terms of the number of calls we take," she said. It was a lot quieter and there were different nature of jobs as well. Now, we are getting back to normal it is very busy.
"There are constant calls all of the time and different kinds of emergencies to what we were getting before when people were in their houses before. It's about reminding people that 999 calls are critical and there should be there for those that need them.
"Think before you ring 999. Is there someone's life at risk? Do you critically need to ring 999? Think of it as if it was someone you loved who had to ring 999. Take the demand of 999 so there is always someone there."
Northumbria Police said it is recruiting more call handlers and investing in its systems to cope with the rise in calls.
Already it has taken on 65 new call handlers since June last year and plans to take on another 60 by the end of the year. Meanwhile, a new call-back system means that people who call 101 won't need to wait in the phone.
But Assistant Chief Constable Scott Young said that the force needs the public to help them. "We want your help," he said.
"We are here to support you when you need us most and in the case of an emergency dial 999. However, recognise that we have other channels that you can utilise that give you the same service in order to stay safe."
Ahead of the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend, Assistant Chief Constable Young urged people to think before they call.
"We expect over the Jubilee weekend will bring additional calls because it is four days where people will enjoy, hopefully, good weather, a number of parties and other events in the area, such as Ed Sheeran concert," he said. "It does bring more people to the region so we expect more calls.
"We have always seen an increase in calls over the summer months, both from the local communities and those visiting us, but we would want to encourage people to choose the right option when they call us and have the confidence to dial 999 when it is an emergency, knowing that we will be there when they need us.
"If it's not an emergency, then we have invested heavily in technology that gives people a lot of digital options and 101 which means that our call takers are free to take those 999 calls."
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