In law enforcement and telecommunications, Single Non-Emergency Number or SNEN is a phone service run by police forces and local councils in England and Wales and is used for the public to contact police forces in the UK. Some forces currently have a different telephone number, the SNEN project proposes to make 101 the same number for all English and Welsh police forces, in a system similar to 112 and 999.
The purpose of the service is to use it for reporting minor and non-emergency crimes where immediate or high-priority response is not required, such as anti-social behaviour, street defects, nuisance rubbish, noise nuisance, abandoned cars and other minor traffic offences. When the number is dialled the caller is put through to the local constabulary's Force Contact Centre.
The 101 Non-Emergency Number is for Police matters, a further Non-Emergency Number of 111 will be for Health matters[1].
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The 101 number is provided for the following purposes:
In Sheffield, these issues can also be reported by calling 101:
However, 112 or 999 should be called when:
A 101 call may be diverted to the 112/999 facilities if it is deemed to be an emergency.
The concept was piloted in Hampshire and Isle of Wight in 2006 for £3.3 million. And then extended to Northumbria, Cardiff, South Yorkshire, Leicestershire and Rutland.[2][3][4]
After its success it was planned to be rolled out across all English and Welsh police forces in the summer of 2008, but funding was withdrawn by the Home Office during 2007[5], causing some of the 101 lines to be closed. As of 2010, Dyfed-Powys Police, Gwent Police, North Wales Police, South Wales Police, South Yorkshire Police, Wiltshire Police and Hampshire Constabulary maintain a 101 number, which connects the caller to their local force directly. In 2011 the Metropolitan Police Service in London adopted the 101 number for non emergency enquiries. [6][7]
The service costs 15p per call from landlines and mobiles. Cable & Wireless (C&W) has been chosen as the single supplier for the 101 service.[8]
When funding is available the 101, SNEN project is expected to be finished and rolled out across all of English and Welsh police forces.[9] Since most police forces already have a non-emergency 0300 or 0845 number (the 0300 number being cheaper to call from mobiles), the infrastructure needed for SNEN is already in place.