A woman who made hundreds of abusive hoax 999 calls has been ordered to stop drinking for three months.
Suzanne Forster, 51, was hauled before court after making more than 300 calls to Sussex Police and other emergency services from December 2023 to May last year.
In each, she either abused staff or reported hoax crimes.
This was the latest in a string of similar offences she’s found herself in the dock for, dating back at least five years.
Last Friday, she pleaded guilty and was ordered to undertake an Alcohol Abstinence and Monitoring Requirement (AAMR) for 120 days.
For this period, she will have to wear an electronic alcohol monitoring tag, takes a sample of the wearer’s sweat every 30 minutes. Thesse orders have been available to sentencing courts since March 2023.
She was also fined £239, ordered to attend 18 rehabilitation activity days and given a 10-wee prison sentence, suspended for two years.
Forster, of Warrior Close, Portslade, was previously been given Criminal Behaviour Orders for offences of the same nature.
The 51-year-old was interviewed under caution on May 22, 2024 where she denied any knowledge of the most recent calls. Forster was then released under investigation while further necessary enquiries were undertaken.
Force lead for cases of this nature in Sussex, Sarah-Louise Gliddon 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.”