999 drunk caller bound over

Wednesday 04 July 2018

A 55-year-old woman who called emergency services 10 times in two hours whilst intoxicated has been bound over for six months.

Jaana Hannele Butler appeared before the Magistrate’s Court yesterday for repeatedly dialling ‘999’ without having an emergency to report, and acting in contempt of court.

Ms Butler called ‘999’ ten times between 10:00 and 12:00 on 31 May saying that she wanted to report a matter from 15 years ago. Officers advised her to call the non-emergency Police number, but Ms Butler said she was unable to do so as she did not have any credit on her phone.

The Court heard that during the calls to the Police, Ms Butler “sounded intoxicated” and was “slurring her speech”.

After the first few calls, Police went to Ms Butler’s address and found that she was highly intoxicated but not in need of assistance. The officers gave her “strong words of advice regarding the 999-system."

Pictured: Jaana Butler appeared before the Magistrate's Court yesterday for repeatedly drunk-calling the emergency services.

Despite this warning, Ms Butler continued to call 999 and was asked on every occasion whether she had an emergency to report, but she did not. 

Defence Advocate James Bell said: “She knows that these calls were an inconvenience to the Police. She has made a nuisance of herself and she apologises.”

Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris, presiding, replied: “Yes, because she was drunk and until she addresses that problem then she will continue to be a nuisance.”

Mr Harris then addressed the defendant warning her of the dangers of distracting the Police who should be attending to people in actual emergencies, saying that they shouldn’t have to “waste their valuable time dealing with your drunken phone calls.” 

Handing out his sentence of a six-month binding over order, Mr Harris continued: “You are not only a nuisance, but you are potentially putting people’s lives at risk."

Ms Butler had also previously been held in contempt of court when she appeared before the Magistrate’s Court on 4 June in an intoxicated state.