If an emergency happened to you, would you be calm enough to decide which number to dial: 110 to report a crime, 122 for traffic accidents, or 119 for fires?

To help those who would say "no" to the above question, the Ministry of Public Security is planning to merge the three numbers into one. The change will bring the emergency-reporting system more into accordance with practices in other countries, according to the ministry.

Zhou Mudi, a student in Britain for four years, said Britain's single emergency number - 999 - is easier to remember than China's three numbers.

"It's a fast-dial number in my cell phone in case I run into any danger or emergency," Zhou said.

She thought the use of more than one emergency number too often confuses those who are in need of help.

Like Britain, the United States has one emergency number. A resident of the latter country can call 911 to report an imminent danger.

"For many years the common practice has been to have one emergency number for each country," said an official at the command and control center under the general office of the Ministry of Public Security, the Beijing News reported on Tuesday. "And the ministry's plan is to follow the practice of the developed countries."

Wang Hongjun, director of the public order research office at Chinese People's Public Security University, said many small cities have moved ahead of the ministry's decision.

By the end of December last year, police departments in at least 2,088 counties and 294 cities had undertaken the integration project, according to the ministry.

"This move will not only help save time and resources for the police, but also provide more convenience for the public," Wang said. "By integrating the three (emergency numbers) into one, the police can concentrate their energies on dealing with residents' problems."

Wang also gave Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, as an example, saying, "The integrated platform established four years ago can help authorities (in the city) efficiently allocate resources."

Even so, Wang pointed out that the ministry might face difficulties in carrying out the new policy at the national level.

"On one hand, it might be a little difficult to implement the new measure in big cities, where emergency calls are usually more common than in smaller cities," Wang said, adding that related departments might have to learn to better digest statistics.

"On the other hand, the question of how to coordinate the firefighters, traffic police and crime police will also become a thorny problem," he said. "There needs to be a clearer division of labor, as well as financial support."

A man with the surname Huang, a Beijing resident working in a sales company who has dialed the three emergency numbers before, said he is looking forward to the change.

"I hope they'll make sure there won't be congestion on phone lines after the integration," he added.

Go to Forum >>0 Comments