We were all kids at one point or the other, and for a certain point in our lives, causing a bit of annoyance to other people was considered to be a form of entertainment gain from mischief. Of course, adults are all too unhappy about such things and will be quick to reprimand those who are causing a little too much trouble than usual.
At 24 years old, Barry Docherty is hardly a child. He is an adult, and regardless of what his problem may be, it does not grant him the right to disrupt the services of the police for a full hour. In the span of 60 minutes, Barry managed to make 50 phone calls –in all of which he remained silent.
You can just imagine the uproar that the man has caused. And if you think that is overreacting then remember this, unlike a prank call to a private house Barry’s calls were not only wasting the valuable time and energy of law enforcers, but he was taking up a caller slot that could be assigned to another person calling in with a real emergency. So far, it is hard to determine if this 1 hour prank has forced other people to find other ways of contacting the police, but the possibility alone merits a severe punishment.
According to reports, the judge ruled that Barry not be allowed to own a mobile phone or a SIM card (or similar device). He will also be banned from calling emergency numbers unless there is a severe emergency. Failure to do so will result in jail time.
The North Yorkshire Police is quite happy with the verdict and have stated that: “We are pleased with today’s result; the order sends a clear warning of the consequences of wasting the emergency services’ time. Valuable police time and resources have been taken up by this individual, and he deserves the restrictions imposed on his ability to carry out nuisance and time-wasting communications.”
Tags: 999, Barry-Docherty, Emergency-Services, Prank-Calls