Microsoft outage: How to report crime as Met and other police force sites hit by collapse

Microsoft services were hit late on Thursday night, leaving many unable to access their Teams, Outlook and AI software Copilot programmes. AI giants OpenAI and Anthropic were also hit.

More than 70 countries around the world have reported issues, and the government is putting contingency plans in place to minimise the impact across Whitehall.

A government spokesman said: “We are aware of the ongoing global technical issues affecting Microsoft services.

“We are working closely with Microsoft to assess any impact on government services, with robust contingency plans in place to minimise disruption.”

An error message is shown when trying to access Outlook

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In a statement on the force’s site, the Met said: “Due to a global Microsoft service issue, some online form submissions may be affected.

“If your report is time-critical but not an emergency, please call 101. In an emergency, call 999.”

The Microsoft outage has hit websites served by Microsoft software, including many police forces around the UK.

It has rendered the sites unable to receive reports filled in online - meaning those who are trying to report non-emergency crimes cannot get through.

In a post on Facebook, the force said: “Due to a global Microsoft service issue, we are currently experiencing technical issues with receiving reports made via our website form.

“If you need to contact police for a non-emergency, please call 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.”

A spokesperson for Dyfed-Powys Police said: “We’re aware of global issues affecting Microsoft Outlook this evening, which have impacted our ability to receive online reports via the website as well as our general contact centre email address.

“Until these issues are resolved, if you need to make a non-urgent report, please call us on 101 or send a direct message to this Facebook account. In an emergency, always dial 999.”

Police forces are urging people to ring 999 for an emergency, or 101 for non-emergency crimes

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Hertfordshire Police has also been affected by the Microsoft outage, telling followers on X: “Due to a global Microsoft service issue, some online form submissions on our website (https://orlo.uk/4YQgb) may be affected.

“If your report is time-critical but not an emergency, please call 101.

“In an emergency, call 999.”

And Dorset Police also urged people to call either 101 or 999 to make any urgent reports following the Microsoft outage.

In a post on X, the force said: “Due to a global Microsoft service issue, we are currently unable to receive online form submissions.

“Until this is resolved, if your report is time-critical but not an emergency, please dial 101.

“If your report can wait until Microsoft restores its service, please submit an online form once you are able to do so.

“If a crime is in progress or a life is in danger, call 999.”

Microsoft has been trying to fix the issue since Thursday night, but admitted the fixes are “not taking as expected”.

The software giant said the issue hasn’t been caused by a cyber security breach.