A woman has been spared prison after making more than 300 hoax 999 calls in less than six months.
Suzanne Forster was charged with making an excessive number of grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing calls to the 999 emergency line and to the non-emergency 101 number.
Forster, 51, was given a 10-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to stay off the booze for the next four months.
Abi Taylor-Hall, prosecuting, told magistrates that Forster, of Warrior Close, Portslade, had wasted many hours of police call handlers’ time.
Sussex Police said: “A woman has been sentenced following an extensive series of abusive, persistent and hoax calls to Sussex Police and other emergency services.
“Forster made 303 calls to police between December 2023 and May 2024, with all calls either abusing staff or reporting hoax crimes.”
At Brighton Magistrates’ Court last Friday (3 January), Miss Taylor-Hall said that Forster had also previously been given “criminal behaviour orders” for offences of the same nature.
Forster was interviewed under caution on Wednesday 22 May but denied any knowledge of the calls. She was then released under investigation while police carried out further inquiries.
Sussex Police said: “Charges for sending public communications of an offensive, obscene or menacing manner were authorised on Monday 11 November and Forster appeared at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 21 November. She was bailed with strict conditions.
“Forster pleaded guilty to the offence at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Friday 3 January and was sentenced the same day.”
The magistrates said that they had taken her guilty plea into account but the offence was so serious that only a custodial sentence could be justified.
This was partly because Forster made such a significant number of calls to the police and partly because she had committed the same offence several times in the past.
As well as a 10-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, Forster was ordered to attend up to 18 days of rehabilitation activity.
The bench also imposed an “alcohol abstinence and monitoring requirement” for 120 days – or four months until early May – with Forster expected to wear an electronical tag.
She was told that she must not drink during that time and can expect to be checked. She was also ordered to pay £85 towards the cost of bringing the case.
Sarah-Louise Gliddon, from Sussex Police, said: “Unnecessary and inappropriate use of the Sussex Police contact numbers results in the police being tied up on a call and prevents call handlers from dealing with genuine emergencies and giving assistance to those who are in need or require support from the police.
“Sadly, it is not unusual for Sussex Police staff to be verbally abused while they are on duty.
“Although they deal with challenging situations on a daily basis, they should not have to endure being treated in this way.
“We treat the verbal abuse of our staff extremely seriously and those found to be causing harm will be thoroughly investigated, with appropriate action taken.”