THOUSANDS of victims of crime and witnesses will have to pay more to call police on their new 101 number, an Oxford Mail investigation has revealed.

Thames Valley Police, along with seven other forces, introduced the new 101 number last month to replace its current 08458 505505 number, with callers now being charged a flat rate fee of 15p.

However, the Oxford Mail has discovered that customers with BT, the phone provider with the largest customer share, will on average end up paying double.

More than 20,000 non-emergency calls were made to Thames Valley Police’s public enquiry centre in the first two weeks of November with the average call lasting four minutes.

Previously BT customers paid 2.042p a minute to call the 0845 number, n Continued on Page 2 to call 0845 numbers, meaning an average cost of about 8p.

Sky (24.5p) and Virgin (52.1p) telephone customers will save money on the average length call, however. TalkTalk would not reveal its charges while it will be cheaper for mobile users.

The change does not affect the free 999 number but there were fears last night people would call the emergency number instead with more minor calls.

Denise Dean, from Blackbird Leys, whose 14-year-old daughter was robbed of her mobile phone last year, said it was wrong to charge people to pass on information to the police.

She said: “I still think it should be free. If you’ve got to pay I think people will probably dial 999 for free instead.

“I think if it was a free phone number it would make a big difference.”

The 15p flat rate does not go to the police but to the national 101 number’s operator, Cable & Wireless. It is also paid a fee of 0.0035p per call for administration by Thames Valley Police. On the first two weeks’ figures, that means the public will pay the company about £80,000 a year.

The force admitted it had not looked into the details of whether callers trying to report crimes or help with witness appeals would be worse off.

Spokesman Lisa Bergin said: “There is no standard charging scheme (for 08458 505505).

“The initial stance was that it would cost no more than a local call, but each service provider charges 0845 numbers in a different way.

“For example a BT landline could have the 0845 number included in the free local calls package, whereas O2 charge 25p per minute on a pay as you go mobile.

“The 101 number is a national initiative being led by the Home Office. We would like to think that it wouldn’t deter anybody from calling.”

The force has not yet seen an increase in people calling the free 999 number.

Robert Oxley of the Tax Payers’ Alliance said: “Thames Valley Police need to be clear about how much calls will cost in non-emergencies and there is a danger that BT customers will not realise that they will now pay more on average.

“The force should have looked carefully at all the information before making this change, it seems they had good intentions but didn’t do their homework.

“It is good to hear that this new number will save some people money but with so many homes still relying on a BT landline, TVP cannot ignore the fact they this will cost them more and should look again at this decision.”

Oxford East MP Andrew Smith also called on police to prove to callers they weren’t paying over the odds to make their call.

Mr Smith said: “I don’t think a flat rate fee is a bad thing in itself, but I think the police ought to be able to say how it affects costs.

“It would obviously be a good idea for the police to say what steps have been taken to negotiate the number to keep the costs down.”

A Home Office spokesman added: “Research shows that a small fixed charge won’t discourage people calling the service.”

The 08458 505505 number was introduced in 2004. Prior to that it was a local call.