The Guyana Police Force (GPF) is reporting that operators of the recently re-launched 911 emergency system received more than 200 prank calls in just 48 hours.
Marlon Chapman
However, A Division (Georgetown-East Bank Demerara) Commander, Assistant Commissioner Marlon Chapman has since vowed to go after the pranksters and make an example out of them.
Last Friday, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan re-commissioned the system, and at the ceremony, he sounded a stern warning to pranksters revealing that the new system has the capability to trace calls and pinpoint locations so that the Police could go after the perpetrators.
Speaking with this publication on Tuesday, Commander Chapman said that the Police were in the process of getting the names and numbers of those who are making the prank calls.
“We have received over 200 prank calls since we launched the system and this is affecting the real emergencies, because we have to determine the pranks. But we are investigating the callers and investigations are ongoing. Very soon we will determine who those persons are and then actions would be taken against them,” Chapman said.
The GPF commissioned the 911 Emergency System at the Brickdam Police Station in Georgetown, with plans to take the new system to 52 other locations within the country to promote better Police response while enhancing crime-fighting efforts.
Some 46 officers have been trained to operate the system, which has been commissioned to respond to calls from citizens across Guyana and prompt Police response. In addition, citizens can send text messages to 911 instead of calling and the operators can render assistance. The system has been reintroduced, and would be supported, with the assistance of local phone companies GTT and Digicel, after several years of non-operation.
Ramjattan had stated that a holistic approach was taken towards ensuring that the new 911 emergency system did not repeat the poor service that was provided in the past.
