Citizens' awareness of the importance of the number 112 is at a low level

The operational communication center 112 (OKC) of the Directorate for Emergency Situations, in the first months of this year, received more than 76 thousand calls, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) said, stating that citizens' awareness of the importance and purpose of the number 112 is at a very low level level.

"From January to March of this year, OKC received 112 calls to 76.872," the Ministry of the Interior told the Mina agency.

They indicated that, out of the total number, 47.515 calls were made without a SIM card. "Mostly kids playing with old phones, none of which were relevant to the ministry."

"We have the most calls in this period of the year from the jurisdiction of the Police Administration. "Citizens report traffic accidents, robberies, domestic violence, disruption of public order and the like," said the MUP.

By calling the number 112, as they stated, citizens report everything from the jurisdiction of the Directorate for Emergency Situations, the Police Administration, the Emergency Medical Service and the Protection and Rescue Service.

The government department said that outdoor and indoor fires, finds of unexploded ordnance, landslides on the road, rescuing mountaineers, burst water pipes in buildings were also reported with the call.

"In addition to calls when help is really necessary, we also have another type of call, which is dominant at the moment, where citizens mistakenly ask for various information thinking that they have received a call center of a mobile operator, a telegram service, and the like," explained the Ministry of Interior.

According to them, the number 112 was most often called by tourists in the previous year, when they were in trouble, and Montenegrin citizens reported fires during that period.

As they said, there is an evident increase in calls to number 112, but work must be done to raise the level of citizens' awareness of its importance and purpose. "Which is currently at a very low level."

The Ministry of Interior pointed out that this problem was experienced by all countries that introduced the number 112 and that the level of awareness in the countries of the European Union (EU) varies.

They added that, on average, in the EU, about 112 percent of the population knows about the number 40.

"Our goal is that, by raising the awareness of citizens through the education of elementary school students, marketing campaigns in electronic and print media, every citizen of Montenegro receives information about what the number 112 represents," the MUP announced.

They said that, based on previous experience, they assume that the most calls will be in the summer tourist season, which also coincides with the fire season.

OKC 112, as they added, currently receives calls in Montenegrin and English.

"Our intention is to receive information in as many languages ​​as possible, and we are currently considering a way to put that idea into practice," stated the Ministry of Interior.