Officers reveal timewasting emergency calls

A comedy show was so unfunny that an audience member called the Police Emergency number to complain.

The call to 111 – the equivalent to the UK’s 999 – is just one of several time-wasting alarms New Zealand’s police have reported to day.

They said a woman dialled the number  to complain about a professional comedian – whom they did not name – who she felt was not funny after paying to watch their live performance.

Needless to say, officers did not pursue the comedian. 

New Zealand police receive around 2 million calls each year. Of those, around 750,000 are listed as non-emergency calls.

Other trivial 111 matters reported by the nation’s Sunday Star Times newspaper include a man complaining about his slow internet speed, another becoming frustrated with Netflix, and an 11-year-old who called because Pizza Hut had closed.

Another child called after his mother told his four-year-old brother that she would call the police if he continued to walk slowly. The mother can be heard in the background of the recording saying: 'I didn't mean you should actually call them!’

Published: 6 Nov 2016