STS announced that hundreds of thousands of abusive calls were registered to the 112 emergency service in the first 6 months of 2020, and below you have all the details.
"In the first 6 months of 2020, more than 112 million calls were received in System 4,8, of which 2,6 million were emergencies.
Of the total number of recorded calls, over 311.000 (6,47%) were abusive calls. One person from Olt called 9.544 112 times, and 44 others called the single emergency number at least 1.000 times.
The 112 call centers are operational 24/7 to help citizens who have an emergency, but we need to be aware that, only by calling 112 responsibly, we can benefit from quick and effective interventions.
More than 2,2 million of the total calls received in the first half of 2020 were not emergencies, of which more than 311.000 were abusive calls. Citizens repeatedly called abusively, without having a real emergency, made jokes or insulted the operators, requested information or used the emergency line in the context of events for which the intervention of specialized agencies was not necessary (Ambulance, Police, Firefighters, SMURD, Gendarmerie, SALVAMONT, etc.).
An example of abusive calling is that of a citizen who called from a prepaid card in the 112 Giurgiu Center and introduced himself as "Iulian". In just two months, "Iulian" called 1.500 more than 112 times without any emergency, citing various reasons that did not require the operative intervention of specialized crews. "Iulian" was identified by the Giurgiu police and received a fine, which led him to stop calling 112 without reason.
Just like "Iulian", there were other citizens, from other counties, who called 112 abusively, without having an emergency. A person from Ilfov called 7.573 times, another person from Vaslui called 6.779 times, a citizen from Neamț 5.695 times, and another citizen from Cluj county 5.563 times.
We remind citizens to call 112 responsibly! Abusive calling of the 112 emergency service is punishable by a fine of up to 2.000 lei and up to 200 hours of community service, and if the intervention teams go to the field and find that it was a false alert, the fine can reach 4.000 lei and up to 400 hours of community service. The detection of contraventions and the application of fines are done by the staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
* Abusive calling is the repeated, malicious calling of the number 112, without the caller justifying a state that requires the action of specialized intervention agencies, and also considered abusive calling, calling 112 to insult the operators.
** False alerting is the intentional and unjustified use of the number 112 for alarming or determining the intervention of specialized intervention agencies, without an emergency being registered.
Useful tips for citizens:
1. Call 112 only when you have an emergency or if someone is in an emergency situation. An emergency situation is one in which the immediate intervention of specialized agencies is necessary - Ambulance, Police, Fire Brigade, Gendarmerie - when life, property or the environment are endangered (fires, accidents with victims, unconscious people, serious medical problems, assaults and other crimes, floods, suicide attempts, robberies, etc.).
2. Lock the phone to avoid accidental dialing (if you dialed 112 by mistake, stay on the line and inform the operator that you dialed by mistake).
3. Cooperate with the 112 operator when calling the emergency service. Answer the questions he asks you as accurately as possible, give the exact address of the event and give all the details of what happened. The questions that the 112 operator asks you are clear and concise and aim to provide help in the shortest possible time. The more detailed and correct the information you provide, the faster the crews will be able to reach you.
4. Do not call 112 for non-urgent problems! Non-urgent calls represent those situations in which there is no need for the immediate intervention of the Ambulance, Police, Fire or Gendarmerie crews. Unjustified calling of 112 can cost the life of a person in danger. While the operator is dealing with a non-urgent call, there may be a person waiting on the line who really needs help!
5. Do not call the emergency number to make jokes, pranks, to insult the operators, to request various information that is not the subject of an emergency intervention (weather condition, trains running, exact time, contact details of the authorities, etc. )
More details related to the 112 emergency service can be found on the STS website, by accessing the link: https://www.sts.ro/ro/112-serviciul-de-urgenta."
