In an emergency, just dial 110 ...
By Pan Zheng |
January 26, 2011, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA'S three emergency numbers - 110, 119 and 122 - are to be merged into one - 110 - throughout the country to make it easier for people to get help, the Ministry of Public Security said yesterday.
The existing numbers are for, respectively, the police, fire and traffic accidents.
As yet, there are no details of when the change will be completed throughout the nation, The Beijing News reported, although the system has been in operation in Shanghai since 2009.
A ministry official said the annual number of emergency calls that national police departments received had been increasing in recent years.
From last January to November, the 110 service received more than 127 million emergency calls - a new record.
The ministry said the "three-to-one" plan was already in operation in many counties and small cities. By the end of last December, there were 2,088 police departments at county level and 294 at city level which had completed the process.
"Since there are many fewer calls in small counties and cities compared with big ones, it's much easier to carry out the 'three-to-one' plan," the official told the newspaper, "but for those big cities, there are always many calls every day. If all the calls are merged into one, there will probably be great pressure on the command system."
The single number would not only be more convenient in an emergency situation but it was also international common practice, he said.
The ministry said that the 'three-to-one" plan was still in a transition period, and in those cities which had completed the changeover, the 119 and 122 emergency numbers were still in use.
Larger cities would be able to work out their own timetable as to when they would make the change according to their own circumstances.
In Shanghai, the changeover has already taken place - a district command center collects and share the information, with various urban management departments having staff at the center. In an emergency, people call the command center by dialing 110, and the case is assigned to the relevant department. However, the numbers 119 and 122 are still in use.
The existing numbers are for, respectively, the police, fire and traffic accidents.
As yet, there are no details of when the change will be completed throughout the nation, The Beijing News reported, although the system has been in operation in Shanghai since 2009.
A ministry official said the annual number of emergency calls that national police departments received had been increasing in recent years.
From last January to November, the 110 service received more than 127 million emergency calls - a new record.
The ministry said the "three-to-one" plan was already in operation in many counties and small cities. By the end of last December, there were 2,088 police departments at county level and 294 at city level which had completed the process.
"Since there are many fewer calls in small counties and cities compared with big ones, it's much easier to carry out the 'three-to-one' plan," the official told the newspaper, "but for those big cities, there are always many calls every day. If all the calls are merged into one, there will probably be great pressure on the command system."
The single number would not only be more convenient in an emergency situation but it was also international common practice, he said.
The ministry said that the 'three-to-one" plan was still in a transition period, and in those cities which had completed the changeover, the 119 and 122 emergency numbers were still in use.
Larger cities would be able to work out their own timetable as to when they would make the change according to their own circumstances.
In Shanghai, the changeover has already taken place - a district command center collects and share the information, with various urban management departments having staff at the center. In an emergency, people call the command center by dialing 110, and the case is assigned to the relevant department. However, the numbers 119 and 122 are still in use.
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