Woman sentenced following hundreds of hoax and abusive calls to police

A woman has been sentenced following an extensive series of abusive, persistent and hoax calls to Sussex Police and other emergency services.

Suzanne Forster has been ordered to undertake 18 rehabilitation activities, pay a fine of £239, undertake an Alcohol Abstinence and Monitoring Requirement (AAMR), and been given a 10-week prison sentence, suspended for two years.

Forster, 51, of Warrior Close, Portslade, made 303 calls to police between December 2023 and May 2024, with all calls either abusing staff or reporting hoax crimes.

Forster wasted numerous hours of call handers time over a six month period, and had also previously been given Criminal Behaviour Orders for offences of the same nature.

The 51-year-old was interviewed under caution on May 22, 2024 where she denied any knowledge of the calls. Forster was then released under investigation while further necessary enquiries were undertaken.

Charges for sending public communications of an offensive/ obscene/ menacing matter were authorised on November 11, and Forster appeared at Brighton Magistrates' Court on November 21.

She was bailed with strict conditions, ahead of her next court appearance.

Forster pleaded guilty to the offence at Brighton Magistrates' Court on Friday, January 3 and was sentenced the same day.

Force lead for cases of this nature in Sussex, Sarah-Louise Gliddon said,

“Unnecessary and inappropriate use of the Sussex Police contact numbers results in the police being tied up on a call and prevents call handlers from dealing with genuine emergencies and giving assistance to those who are in need or require support from the police.

"Sadly, it is not unusual for Sussex Police staff to be verbally abused while they are on duty.

"Although they deal with challenging situations on a daily basis, they should not have to endure being treated in this way.

“We treat the verbal abuse of our staff extremely seriously, and those found to be causing harm will be thoroughly investigated, with appropriate action taken."