During
the early 1990s I worked for the NSW Police Service. My role as
General Support Officer was to answer the phone, take messages,
record incidents, and greet people as they entered the police
station. This position, based in the inner west of Sydney, was my
first introduction to people from different cultures. Sometimes new
Australian's would call the local police station for an emergency,
rather than Triple 0 meaning that if I was working at that particular
time, it was me who answered their urgent and often distressed phone
call.
I
remember a particular incident where an Asian woman called to report
she had just witnessed a robbery. Fortunately she had noted down the
registration plate of the car which was seen leaving the scene. I
asked her to describe the car, it's occupants and also to read me the
registration plate. Over the telephone there is often noise,
interference and distortion so I mis-heard the letters she was
reading me. I can't quite recall what the rego plate was, but I
mis-heard a T for a P. So in this case the message was decoded
incorrectly, and the officers sent to track this car - were looking
for an incorrect rego plate.
Nowadays
the Police Service offers thorough training to their public servants
including learning the phonetic alphabet to prevent accidents like
this.
Michelle.
Teacher
Resource Page: Western Australia Police (n.d.) Retrieved from:
http://www.police.wa.gov.au/YoungPeoplesZone/Teacherresourcepage/tabid/1842/Default.aspx
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