you would expect the police to act more quickly if you dail 999 but that dosent necessarily mean the will act more quickly.
I think we'd all agree that in an emergency, dialing 999 would be the most appropriate course of action for the swiftest possible response.
In this case, a 999 call would have removed PC West from the communication chain saving a few minutes at least.
More of a concern, is that Jeremy not only failed to dial 999, he also took about 15 minutes (or 25 minutes if you are going for the 3:36 time) to actually phone the police. So why would he complain about being on hold for 3 minutes?

You've also got to fit in a call to Julie, either before or after calling the police, he's claimed both.
None of this makes sense, it stinks.