999 callers wait over a minute for answer
WEST Midlands Police is one of the slowest forces to answer 999 calls in the country – with some people waiting over a minute.
Figures were revealed in a new league table in a bid to improve speeds nationally.
On average, police receive a 999 call every three seconds, with a target to answer within ten seconds.
But West Midlands Police left 11 per cent of callers waiting for over a minute and a further 25 per cent of calls were answered between ten and 60 seconds.
A total of 63 per cent were picked up in under ten seconds – less than the national average of 71 per cent.
Figures revealed the average call time for West Midlands Police was 23.2 seconds. Northumbria,
North Yorkshire, Gloustershire and Greater Manchester Police were the only areas where this figure was higher.
High performing areas recorded average call times of six seconds. West Mercia Police recorded an average call time of 11.7 seconds, according to the stats.
The comparison came amid a key commitment in the government’s Beating Crime Plan, with the hope of improving transparency and performance from the forces.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “Calling 999 can literally be a matter of life and death. The public deserve to know that their local police force will be at the end of the phone, ready to leap into action at seconds’ notice to protect them from harm.
“Fundamentally, publishing this data is about driving up standards in our incredible emergency services even further, so that the public can have every confidence in the police’s ability to save lives and keep our streets safe. We can see where forces are excelling and where vital improvements need to be made and I thank the police for their commitment to ensuring we maintain the best emergency services in the world.”
Police forces are operationally independent and each will have its own unique pressures to identify and address.
Prank calls, a lag time in connecting and inappropriate use of 999 to call for issues that are not emergencies, can all contribute to delays in answering.
The lag time, between dialling 999 and being connected to a call-handler, can be up to seven seconds in some areas.
Some police forces are already reviewing their telephone systems and working with BT to resolve this. National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Lead for Contact Management, Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd, said the data showed a “high level of demand” placed on call handlers on a daily basis. He admitted there are sometimes lag times connecting calls to the police as he vowed to work with partners like BT to improve the experience for 999 callers.
He urged people to only phone 999 in a genuine emergency amid the “huge amount of pressure” on the call handlers working tirelessly in “someone’s time of need”.
ACC Todd said: “We know one of our biggest areas of concern for 999 calls to the police are prank calls. Not only do they waste police time, it can also delay someone who needs genuine help, in getting it when they need it.”