u/Dogwood_msu

Just to specify I'm (sadly) not clinical staff, I'm just a SCAS call handler but I've noticed that the level of abuse we're getting via 999 seems to be building as the year progresses.

I've almost finished my second year as a call taker and I've noticed we're definitely getting a lot more verbal abuse and physical threats down the line vs what I saw in 2024 and 2025. It definitely started picking up around late 2025, but its so much worse now.

Myself and my colleagues are constantly having people threaten to get us fired, using racial slurs, generally being abusive or even making graphic threats.

I know its not as bad for us since we're not dealing with these people in person, but the level of vitriol from the public is starting to get very draining.

Some of these incidents have been taken to the police because of what happened but obviously nothing came of it.

I'm wondering if maybe it's just us or country wide, part of me think that channel 4 documentary may have had some influence on this.

Has anyone else noticed a rise in either abuse or just negative interactions with the public recently?

Happened to me this morning on my way home from work.

I work for ambulance control and finished my shift at 2am. I was driving home and during the drive a marked police car was following behind me.

Paid it absolutely 0 mind because i figured they were out on patrol or heading to a lower priority incident and we were on a semi-rural road so I just shrugged it off.

They followed me for maybe 2 or three minutes before putting on the blues and signaling for me to pull over. I thought maybe one of my break lights was out since I know that can get you tugged.

Anyway they come up to the car and I asked them what was going on - they asked me where I was going and I told them I was heading home from work. I was still in my ambulance greens so I pointed to the crest on the uniform and explained i work at ambulance control and had just finished a late shift.

Both officers were very nice blokes and they explained that it was just a weird time to be driving and they wanted to make sure that "with the football on, i wasn't a drunk driver" before telling me I'd done nothing wrong and was absolutely fine. We had a bit of chit chat about both of us being busier in the heatwave and they let me go. Not asked for my licence, documents or anything else.

Understandably I was baffled and I'm now feeling a tad on edge around driving home. I finish the shift I'm working now at 3am and frequently finish between 2am to 4am. I really really don't want to be pulled over just for going home.

Is driving at a weird time really something you can be pulled over for? I wasn't swerving or driving in any strange way, the only reason they pulled me over was for driving at 2.16am on a Friday morning, as confirmed by the officers when I asked them.

After mentioning it to friends it's been suggested maybe my car itself is the reason I was pulled over but I dont think a Honda Civic is really that suspicious.

So TL;DR:

Can you really be pulled over just for driving home at a 'weird' time, or was there some other reason they pulled me over?