That is the message Deniliquin Police have issued after a series of hoax calls have been received by local emergency services providers in the past two weeks.
Detective Chief Inspector Jy Brown said including four confirmed hoax calls registered on Monday and Tuesday this week, there have been at least 12 in the past fortnight.
On each occasion, emergency services were called to the same region of Deniliquin and arrived to find no evidence of an emergency situation.
Det Chief Insp Brown said the calls have not only involved police, with fire services and Ambulance NSW paramedics also deployed depending on the nature of the calls.
He said it was not only a nuisance, and illegal, but also places other community members at serious risk.
“By contacting Triple Zero and providing false information, resulting in the deployment of emergency services, the caller is wasting valuable time and resources,” he said.
“That could divert emergency services away from a real emergency.
“And as we know, in life threatening situations, every second counts.”
Due to the sheer number of hoax calls in a short timeframe, Deniliquin detectives are now investigating.
“Once we identify the person or people making these hoax calls that are impeding on emergency services, we will take action.”
According to Criminal Defence Lawyers Australia, the maximum penalty for the improper use of an emergency call service is imprisonment for three years.
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