You may remember us reporting that about the new police 101 number for all non-emergency calls which was introduced in September 2011. At the end of March 2012 the old 0345 number will fall out of use.

The number change is part of a national scheme to make 101 the single non-emergency number in England and Wales. The system has been designed to recognise where the caller is dialling from and connect them with the local police service. If a caller does not want to speak to their local force they will be given the option to be connected to a different one.

Note that you should continue to call 999 when an immediate response is needed because a crime is happening, someone suspected of a crime is nearby, or someone is in danger.