Local residents who find it inconvenient to report an emergency
to police by calling 110 can do it with their fingers and thumbs,
the Shenzhen Municipal Public Security Bureau announced Monday.
With the completion of the first phase of work on a police short
message platform, people can now send text messages to 0755110 to
report crimes or incidents.
Only those who are deaf and mute, who cannot speak due to the
emergency, or who are reporting SMS fraud are encouraged to use the
service. Those who report SMS fraud need to send the numbers from
which they receive the messages.
The police remind people that calling 110 is still recommended
when the situation allows, since short messages can only carry
limited information and cannot give a full account of the incident.
The police also remind those who choose SMS reporting to include in
their messages basic facts like the time, site and nature of the
emergency.
The 110 center will contact the caller with a return message if
any information is unclear.
At present, only China Mobile users can access the service, and
will be charged 0.1 yuan (US$0.01) for each piece of information.
Unicom and Shihuatong subscribers will be able to use the service
when the second phase of the platform is completed.
The police warn that anyone sending fake messages will be
punished and have their mobile numbers blacklisted.
(Shenzhen Daily November 8, 2006)