999 new hope for crime victims
Saugato Bosu
The National Emergency Service toll free number 999 has come as a boon to victims of crime or in emergencies such as an accident. On December 16, the helper of an S Alam Poribahan bus in Teknaf had dialled 999 following a roadside robbery. Later, Teknaf police rescued the bus and its passengers on the basis of proper information provided by the National Emergency Service. A similar incident was reported from Shokhipur bus stand in Tangail. Some criminals had attempted to rob people at midnight, but someone tipped the police by calling the emergency number. Police rushed to the spot and the robbers fled.
On December 13, a 999 caller alerted the police about a child marriage at South Nishchintapur village in Hosnabad union of Chittagongs Rangunia upazila. Law enforcers appeared at the spot and rescued a 13-year-old girl from being married forcibly. In another incident on December 12, a 30-year-old man was arrested for allegedly raping a physically disabled girl in Gazipur city. The arrest came after a resident called 999 to inform about the crime.
Like these incidents, you too can call 999 to report a crime, fire or any other emergency. Law enforcers, firefighters or ambulances will be dispatched to resolve the unexpected situation.
Md Mirajur Rahman Patwary, assistant superintendent of police (emergency service), told The Independent that the service had received 131,689 calls in the past seven days, out of which 437 instances were resolved immediately.
We divide the incoming calls into 10 sections. In the past seven days, 21,143 crank calls were made to 999. Then there were 75,080 blank calls, 13,570 missed calls, 797 calls by children, 13 hot calls, and 181 calls by women, the ASP said.
On crank calls, Rahman said around 18 per cent of such calls were made to annoy the female officers on duty. This is the sad part for the service provider, but we think itll reduce slowly, he added.
There is little scope for our ambulance services as there is no permanent office. At present, a team of 100 people are working at this call centre, with 26 skilled workers in each shift. However, the call centre needs to be expanded to handle the deluge of calls, he said.
The officer also said the centre can handle 120 incoming calls at the same time. The capacity will increase to 300 next year. On the future prospects of the emergency service, Rahman said: All the police stations, fire and ambulances services in the country will be added to the service soon, and a process is already underway to bring them under a technical network.
Earlier, calls to the toll free emergency number could be made from 7am to 10pm, but now the service has been extended to 24 hours. Police officials manning the emergency service said the main purpose was to introduce phone- and mobile-based help desks for all people.
Earlier, the 999 number could only be called from a TT land phone number. As a result, many people could not immediately inform the police if a crime or accident took place on a road. At present, any person can report a crime or accident even from a mobile phonethis has made sharing of information between the police and the public more convenient.
The information and communication technology (ICT) had initiated the setting up of the National Emergency Service number 999 in October 2015. The government had launched the service on an experimental basis for six months on October 21, 2016.
It was formally inaugurated by Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the Prime Ministers ICT advisor, on December 12.
There are similar emergency service numbers in some other countries as well. While the emergency number in the US and Canada is 911, such services can be availed by calling 999 in the UK or 112 in an EU country.
