Police in gun over 'too calm' 111 rebuff

Pamela Percivalle says it seems she didn't sound frightened enough. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Police Minister Judith Collins is investigating the 111 system after a woman who called for help was later told a police car was not sent because she seemed "relatively calm".

Ms Collins told the Herald she would ask police for a full report about the incident involving Aucklander Pamela Percivalle.

On Friday night, Ms Percivalle woke to banging on her bedroom window and front door in Mt Eden.

She called 111, and was told to call back if anything else happened.

Police later said her voice had been "relatively calm" and that would have been a factor in the operator's decision not to send an officer out.

Ms Collins said she was not happy about the incident and would be investigating.

"My view is that if people feel they are in serious danger and call police for help, they should expect that help is given.

"So I am asking police to report to me about this incident and what their procedures are in such cases to make sure there's no systemic problem," the minister said.

Ms Percivalle's story appeared in yesterday's Herald and resulted in other people contacting the newspaper to tell of similar experiences.

A woman from Whangarei said she was told a police car was not sent because her voice was calm and therefore an operator felt the situation was under control.

The woman, in her 50s, said a group of drunk teenagers armed with golf clubs had appeared at her house in the middle of the night and started smashing the windows of her vehicle.

She phoned 111 but police did not come.

Later, she complained to the police and received a written apology, part of which said: "The dispatcher noted that you were calm when she spoke to you and that she apologised for not listening to you fully."

Another reader, who called 111 after a domestic violence incident, said she was told that an officer was not sent because she seemed calm.

"I told them that it wasn't calm, it was fear ... If someone came in now, I don't know if I'd call the police. I think I'd just scream and hope the neighbours would come."