ianstone
06-23-2010, 09:16 AM
Police Plagued By Nuisance 999 Rapper
Comments (12) (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Manchester-Police-Are-Hunting-A-Rapper-Whos-Made-Thousands-Of-Nuisance-Calls/Article/201006415653582?lpos=UK_News_First_Strange_News__A rticle_Teaser_Region__0&lid=ARTICLE_15653582_Manchester_Police_Are_Hu#comm ents)
9:43am UK, Wednesday June 23, 2010
Kat Higgins, Sky News Online
Police in Manchester are hunting a rapper who has made thousands of nuisance 999 calls over the past 18 months.
Greater Manchester Police (http://www.gmp.police.uk/) say they have been plagued by the man who chants, sings, raps, preaches and plays loud music to call operators.
He has made 700 calls in the last three months alone and it is costing the force £1,000 a month to handle them.
More than 60 SIM cards have been blocked by police but the rapper continues to acquire unregistered phones to continue his verbal outbursts.
Officers are concerned that the man, who has a Jamaican accent, is blocking the line for callers reporting genuine crimes.
Police are working with various mobile phone companies and have established that most of the calls are made from either Moss Side or Old Trafford.
Superintendent Karan Lee, who is Greater Manchester Police's head of call handling, said: "I would hope he does not do this out of malice because he is putting lives at risk.
"At busy times, the line can be blocked by his calls which means people with a genuine emergency cannot get through.
You can never guess when this man is going to call up, and that's part of the problem.
Call Handling manager Jason Unsworth
"We feel incredibly frustrated when this happens, because we are constantly striving to provide the best possible service to the people of Greater Manchester."
Call handling manager Jason Unsworth added: "You can never guess when this man is going to call up, and that's part of the problem.
"With the World Cup on at the moment, it's an added pressure when he does call, because it can be literally any time of the day, and he can be on the phone for several minutes.
"We have to treat each call as if it was a real emergency, so it's frustrating and worrying when we get time wasters preventing people with real emergencies coming through."
Greater Manchester Police have released audio clips of the man's calls in the hope that someone might recognise him or have information about him.
:: Anyone with information is asked to call Greater Manchester Police's non-emergency number on 0161 872 5050 or Crimestoppers (http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/) on 0800 555 111.
Comments (12) (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Manchester-Police-Are-Hunting-A-Rapper-Whos-Made-Thousands-Of-Nuisance-Calls/Article/201006415653582?lpos=UK_News_First_Strange_News__A rticle_Teaser_Region__0&lid=ARTICLE_15653582_Manchester_Police_Are_Hu#comm ents)
9:43am UK, Wednesday June 23, 2010
Kat Higgins, Sky News Online
Police in Manchester are hunting a rapper who has made thousands of nuisance 999 calls over the past 18 months.
Greater Manchester Police (http://www.gmp.police.uk/) say they have been plagued by the man who chants, sings, raps, preaches and plays loud music to call operators.
He has made 700 calls in the last three months alone and it is costing the force £1,000 a month to handle them.
More than 60 SIM cards have been blocked by police but the rapper continues to acquire unregistered phones to continue his verbal outbursts.
Officers are concerned that the man, who has a Jamaican accent, is blocking the line for callers reporting genuine crimes.
Police are working with various mobile phone companies and have established that most of the calls are made from either Moss Side or Old Trafford.
Superintendent Karan Lee, who is Greater Manchester Police's head of call handling, said: "I would hope he does not do this out of malice because he is putting lives at risk.
"At busy times, the line can be blocked by his calls which means people with a genuine emergency cannot get through.
You can never guess when this man is going to call up, and that's part of the problem.
Call Handling manager Jason Unsworth
"We feel incredibly frustrated when this happens, because we are constantly striving to provide the best possible service to the people of Greater Manchester."
Call handling manager Jason Unsworth added: "You can never guess when this man is going to call up, and that's part of the problem.
"With the World Cup on at the moment, it's an added pressure when he does call, because it can be literally any time of the day, and he can be on the phone for several minutes.
"We have to treat each call as if it was a real emergency, so it's frustrating and worrying when we get time wasters preventing people with real emergencies coming through."
Greater Manchester Police have released audio clips of the man's calls in the hope that someone might recognise him or have information about him.
:: Anyone with information is asked to call Greater Manchester Police's non-emergency number on 0161 872 5050 or Crimestoppers (http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/) on 0800 555 111.