Read for information

English home language

Grade 6

Module 16

Read for information

EMERGENCY NUMBERS ATTRACT CRANK CALLERS

Read this article taken from The Weekend Argus (16 November 2002)

1. Who wrote this article?

2. For what reason did the journalist write this article?

3. What is the message she is conveying?

4. Summarise this article in one sentence. Write your sentence on a sheet of newsprint and display on the pin board in your classroom for discussion and feedback.

1. Now that you have studied the article properly, see if you can complete the sentences in your own words:

• 

  We know that some callers do not take the emergency number seriously,

because they ______________

• 

  A lonely and elderly Claremont woman had had her telephone confiscated,

because _____________________

• After _______________________ two school boys from Paarl were charged and fined.

• Even though they have caller I.D., ____________________--

• Although___________________________, the police are able to trace the caller.

• It would be quite possible to answer 60 % of the calls within 5 seconds, if

______________________________________

• 

  The decision to charge callers for the emergency number was not a good

idea, as ______________________

EMERGENCY NUMBERS ATTRACT CRANK CALLERS

Not

The SA Police Service’s 10111 emergency number in Cape Town has become a medium for “shouting, swearing, burping and farting” with those manning the lines frequently having to deal with sexually explicit requests and remarks.

“One in 25 calls is police-related. The rest are nonsense,” Inspector Brand, a spokeswoman, reported.

The centre has also become a lonely hearts club for those just wanting a chat. Brand said an elderly Claremont woman had her phone confiscated because she called 50 times a day and more, and always after a few too many gin and tonics. “She would call when she was sloshed. She could hardly talk but she would jam up the lines for real emergencies.”

Two Paarl schoolboys were recently charged and fined R30 000 after calling 10111 and making hoax bomb threats against their school.

Last year 3.5 million hoax calls were made to the 10111 emergency number, wasting resources and time.

“The hoax and nuisance calls also have a psychological effect on the police because they get “gatvol” and frustrated. They are under huge pressure to get the relevant information as quickly as possible so the appropriate emergency service can be contacted but this just holds everything up,” said Brand.

When Weekend Argus visited the hi-tech R94 million call centre in Pinelands, one caller phoned to ask for a number for a social worker. Another wanted a telephone number for an address in Ravensmead.

The centre has 25 incoming lines manned by 10 to 15 operators a shift.

The calls are transferred to 12 dispatchers who contact the relevant emergency services.

Brand said the centre received between 250 000 to 300 000 calls a month or 7 000 to 12 000 a day.

“We have caller ID, even from the public phone boxes, so we know where the calls are coming from, but often by the time the police get to a call box, the hoax caller has long gone.”