Plea to 'think of others' after hundreds of New Year's Eve police calls
Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner, Tim Passmore - Credit: Archant
An already-stretched police force dealt with more than 400 calls over New Year's Eve - leading to a plea for people to "behave".
Suffolk police said they had had an "exceptionally busy" night, with 361 incidents between 7pm on December 31 and 6am on January 1.
While there were no major incidents, officers were called to drink driving, domestic abuse and public order offences, as well as missing person and concerns for welfare cases.
Police and Crime Commissioner for Suffolk, Tim Passmore, said while the vast majority of people behave themselves, "it's a tiny minority of people who misbehave and that's not acceptable".
"Think of other people for once, not yourself," he said.
Tim Passmore, Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner, urged people to act responsibly, to avoid putting extra pressure on the police - Credit: Sarah Lucy Brown
He said many factors were responsible for the high volume of calls, including revellers partying beyond their limits following the restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic.
He also said less people going abroad because of Covid restrictions and the milder weather leading to more people being outside could have played a part in the high volume of incidents.
Mr Passmore said: "Please do go out and enjoy yourselves - we do need to support hospitality - and, bearing in mind serious things do happen, putting extra burden on the police is very unfortunate to say the least.
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"The police, like every organisation, have had difficulties with people having to self-isolate. I would implore people over the next few days to bear that in mind.
"Enjoy yourself, but behave and be responsible."
He added: "People have to know their limits."
He stressed there was "never a single excuse" for drink driving, adding "it's an appalling crime and can have devastating consequences".
Cases of domestic abuse have been on the rise over the pandemic, he added.
A spokesman for Suffolk police said: "We have had a busy Christmas and New Year and we have also had to deal with the impact of Covid on our officers and staff while continuing to police Suffolk.
"Call centres have worked hard and received hundreds of calls every day, we appreciate the high demand for 999 calls has meant it has taken longer to answer the 101 calls."
