Woman who called 999 more than 2,000 times in three years is jailed

18 April 2024, 08:10 | Updated: 18 April 2024, 10:42

A woman who rang 999 more than 2,000 times in three years has been jailed. 

Sonia Nixon, 56, from Harrow, north London, used 17 different mobile numbers to ring the emergency line between 2021 and 2023.

According to the Metropolitan Police, this only made her the fifth worst caller in that time period.

In 2023 alone, she called the line 1,194 times, making her one of the top three repeat callers to the police force that year.

Nixon was arrested in January for 668 breaches of the Communications Act 2003 and charged with 670 offences.

After being arrested, she racially abused an officer and was further arrested for racially aggravated public order, before urinating in a Met caged van and being arrested for criminal damage.

Nixon was convicted last month for the calls made to the emergency line, plus four racially aggravated public order offences against emergency workers.

She has now been sentenced to 22 weeks in prison.

Nixon has also been made the subject of a five-year Criminal Behaviour Order. It includes the condition of contacting 999 in an emergency only.

Police estimated that her persistent offending cost the force around £4,500 over a five-month period.

Her abuse of the 999 system, the Met Police said, had a "significant impact" on how quickly operators could respond to genuine emergencies.

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Superintendent Matt Cray said: "This was a superb result and testament to the hard work and dedication of the community policing team to bring Sonia Nixon to justice. She has been a massive drain on local and wider Met resources, consistently abusing our emergency workers with vile and racist behaviour, as well as causing a menace on the streets.

"The excellent work by officers in convicting Ms Nixon means we will be able to prevent further instances of her high volume calling and impact to the 999 service level, ensuring we can prioritise resources where they are really needed, and help restore trust and confidence in our local communities."

More than a quarter of calls made to emergency services do not have a policing purpose, with abusive callers costing the Met Police more than £2m, the force said.

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