HAMPSHIRE'S 101 non-emergency number celebrates its second birthday today - but its long-term future is still uncertain.
Hampshire County Council put its hand in its pocket and found £27,000 to help fund a one-year rescue package for the pilot scheme which costs up to £1m a year to run.
About 50 call staff kept their jobs by merging with the police's main call centre after Hampshire police refused to scrap the scheme entirely despite government funding being pulled in February.
Now a study is set to be undertaken with £5,000 from Southampton City Council and to see if it is feasible to continue beyond March 2009.
The 101 number is used to report vandalism and graffiti, noisy neighbours, antisocial behaviour, abandoned vehicles and fly-tipping. Many calls are referred to councils.
More than 400,000 calls - about 600 a day - have been made to 101 in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight since the service was launched on May 15, 2006. In the past year 65,000 calls have been referred to community safety officers across Hampshire County Council's patch. A further 25,000 calls have been referred to Southampton City Council.
County council chiefs say more than 90 per cent of callers were satisfied with the service they have received.
Council leader Ken Thornber said the call numbers showed the 101 service had been widely adopted by residents as an "effective method of tackling community safety issues."
Superintendent Julie Earle, head of call management, said it showed a "genuine need" for an easy to remember 24-hour non-emergency number.
Cllr Thornber said he hoped a longer-term funding solution will be established to maintain the service.
