Dial 101 to contact the police

Dial 101 to contact the police poster image

We’re here for London 24/7 and are committed to making it quicker and easier for the public to get the service they need from us. That's why the Met will be one of the first police services to introduce 101, which is being rolled out nationally by the Home Office.

You can call 101 to report a crime that has already happened, seek crime prevention advice or make us aware of any policing issues in your local area. In an emergency always call 999.

To raise awareness of the new 101 contact number - which should be used for all instances that do not require an immediate police response - we have launched an information campaign that will run from 11th July - 15th August 2011 across London.

The media channels used for the 101 campaign include radio (Kiss FM, Magic, LBC, LBC News, Kismat Radio and Sunrise Radio), London commuter titles (City AM, The METRO, Evening Standard), BME press (multiple titles targeted at some of London’s minority communities) and outdoor (6-sheets at bus shelters, X-Track 16 sheets, Tube Car Panels, and phone boxes).

The radio adverts have been scripted in a repetitive fashion to help Londoners to remember the new number and give examples of when it should be used.

The print elements of the campaign consist of a very simple copy based design, using colours that are traditionally associated with the police.

In addition to the above activity, we are also promoting the new number at a local level through material such as posters, leaflets and stickers.

Ian McPherson, Assistant Commissioner, Territorial Policing said:

"The MPS is committed to responding to the needs of Londoners by making our services more accessible, and the introduction of 101 is one of the biggest changes in the way people can contact the police since 999 was introduced in the 1940's.

"The new, easy to remember number is being introduced to make it simpler for people to contact us to report a crime that's already happened, to get crime prevention advice, to find out how they can get in touch with their local Safer Neighbourhoods team, or to tell us about any policing issues in their area.

"101 is also expected to reduce the number of inappropriate 999 calls the MPS receives, enabling us to respond to genuine emergencies more effectively."

"Having just two phone numbers: 101 or 999, if it's an emergency situation, in addition to our online services, appointments system and regular face-to-face interaction with the public will make our services more accessible to all."

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