Nearly 90 per cent calls received on women helpline go blank: Police

The police are on a full swing to create awareness on Kavalan SOS mobile phone application, particularly among women and children. But the data received from the Greater Chennai police showed that the women helpline number (1091) received 89.22 per cent blanks calls from the city in 2109.

While the women helpline control room received 48,812 calls till the first week of December this year, as many as 43,554 calls were blank, without any response from the caller. A senior police official reasoned that such calls would have been dialled by mistake, especially children. “Calls without any response from the caller are categorised under blank calls. When we call them back to inquire, the calls would either go unanswered or we would be told that they or their children dialled it by mistake. Several people have even mistaken it for network providers’ customer care number,” said the officer.

Of the total number of calls received on 1091, only 346 were about genuine grievances, while more than 4,000 calls were for general inquiry such as seeking directions to an address.

The number of blank called received on the helpline for senior citizens (1253) is comparatively low. While 8,769 calls were made to the helpline till December 3, the number of blank calls were 6,822 (77.79). Among the remaining calls, 1,660 were for general inquiry, 270 were to seek help.

Deputy Commissioner A Saminathan (Modern Control Room, Greater Chennai Police) said, “Blank calls could be avoided if confirmation option is introduced, like in the common emergency helpline 100. But it has not been done to ensure that help is not delayed to women and senior citizens in distress. Women and senior citizens should make better use of the helplines meant for them as dedicated personnel at the control room are waiting to reach out to them.”

Apart from the 100, the public also has the option to send SMS to police control at 95000 99100, thorough which the police have received about 536 grievance messages this year. People in need of help in land disputes can all Amma Call Centre of Chief Minister’s Cell by dialling 1100, which can be forwarded to the anti-land grabbing cell of Central Crime Branch for assistance. Of the 499 calls received at Amma Call Centre, 56 were related to land disputes, while about 174 calls were to seek general help.

Another senior police official pointed out that the public, of late, have started contacting the police station directly or any officer they know under the impression that their grievance would be given priority. “They should understand that when a call is made to the police control room, the caller’s grievance is officially registered and the police station concerned is responsible to communicate back to the control room after the issue is resolved. The call will not be closed until the police team respond to the control room with their feedback. When the grievance could not be resolved by the patrol team, next-level officers would be asked to visit the spot. Also, if frequent calls are made for the same, senior officials would be asked to look into the matter. So, dialling 100 or other helpline numbers is the right thing to reach the police for help,” said the official.