Police continue to urge public to use online reporting tools over the weekend

The public request has been made after police experienced the busiest day of the year so far this week.

Forces across the country have reported seeing significant demand on call handlers after a surge in emergency calls being made to police.

Last weekend saw a total of 6,902 999 calls made to GMP.

Police believe there are a number of reasons for the increase in calls, including the good weather, the easing of lockdown restrictions and public events taking place.

It is anticipated that demand on services will continue this weekend so officers are once again desperately urging the public to think before dialling 999 and instead report all non-emergency matters online wherever possible.

Assistant Chief Constable Nick Bailey said: "In recent weeks we have seen a significant spike in demand for our services, which in turn has seen a surge in emergency calls being made to GMP. This demand peaked earlier this week when we saw more calls coming into our call centre on Tuesday than any other day this year.

"The easing of restrictions and the sunny weather will inevitably lead to more calls but there are still a large number of calls that could be resolved quicker by using our online services.

"We know that at any one time, up to 60 per cent of calls being made to 999 are not an emergency, which means that our call handlers are being taken away from answering calls that need an urgent response in order to deal with non-emergency reports that could have been made online.

"Our online reporting services are a convenient and effective way of making reports and can be easily accessed by visiting www.gmp.police.uk so I would once again make this really important point. If it's not 999, report it online."

Residents can report a crime or information online by visiting www.gmp.police.uk and clicking Report or by speaking to a call handler using the LiveChat service on the bottom right of the homepage screen 24 hours a day.

Crime reference numbers and other queries can also be dealt with online and will help to ensure those in an emergency can speak to call takers faster.

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