Cleveland Police has lost a total of 75 hours handling hoax calls in 2024 so far, The Northern Echo can reveal.

The figures, obtained by a Freedom of Information (FOI) request show the amount of lost time to hoax calls between January and June this year is as much as the highest total time lost in the last five years which was 2021.

The total number of hours lost to hoax calls has steadily creeped up over the last two years from 51 hours in 2022.

This means a whole calendar day has been lost because of hoax calls in 2024 compared to 2022.

Control Room Temporary Chief Inspector Paul Hodgson, from Cleveland Police, told the Echo: "Cleveland Police takes hoax calls extremely seriously and will look to work alongside partner agencies to deal effectively with those who repeatedly call the police.

"Hoax calls can block telephone lines and potentially prevent genuine emergency calls from getting through."

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Hodgson also highlighted the challenge in quickly identifying a hoax call, adding that each requires a thorough investigation.

"It is not always immediately obvious that a call is a hoax and sometimes a proportionate investigation is needed in order to determine that they are a hoax call and not someone in need of genuine police assistance."

Where recurring hoax calls are identified, steps are taken to engage with the caller and provide necessary support, including interaction with mental health professionals when appropriate.

Some callers could face charges for their disruptive behaviour, while others could be incorporated into long-term schemes designed to address their reasons for the calls.

"Officers from Cleveland Police take part in national meetings alongside other forces, where best practice is shared to ensure that we are dealing with hoax callers effectively to try to prevent further incidents."