Police defend 999 call centre

Police Scotland’s controversial new999 call centre was under fresh attack last night after the “confused” handling of a crash at a north-east accident black spot.

Angry drivers who witnessed the incident at the Charleston flyover contacted the Press and Journal to raise their concerns after claiming the controllers in Dundee “did not have a clue” where it was.

The incident happened just days after the police’s operators were moved away from Aberdeen.

But last night Police Scotland issued a statement claiming they had “thoroughly reviewed all of the calls” in relation with this incident and said they were “satisfied they were handled appropriately”.

It came on the day it emerged almost 200 notable incidents were

“We are satisfied they were handled appropriately”

recorded at call centres in the last year.

Out of those 25% were because the incorrect address had been assigned to a call.

At least three 999 calls were made t o the Dundee centre yesterday morning to report a van which had overturned at about 5.45am between the Wellington Road slip road and the Charleston Flyover.

The crash, which did not result in any serious injuries, had taken place on the northbound carriageway while it was foggy and a number of motorists were concerned fellow drivers may not see the upturned vehicle.

Last night Assistant Chief Constable, John Hawkins, said: “We have thoroughly reviewed all of the calls made to Police Scotland in connection with this incident and we are satisfied that they were handled appropriately.”

Just days after Police Scotland moved its emergency control room and service centre away from the north-east, in the face of public opposition, furious drivers accused the new 999 base of confusion over a crash near Aberdeen.

It happened at the Charleston flyover section of the A90 after a van flipped over yesterday. At least two people who made calls to the control centre at Dundee claimed police did not seem to be clear about the location initially.

Their point being that local controllers in the former 999 control room in Aberdeen would have known instantly where the location was and possibly alerted officers quicker.

It came to light as MSP Lewis Macdonald revealed that there had been almost 200 “notable incidents”, as they are described officially by Police Scotland, over the past year involving 999 and 101 service centres.

Of those, 25% involved officers being sent to wrong address and more than 30% where the call had been processed incorrectly. Anotable incident is usually classed as a mistake which could have resulted in reputational damage for the police and retraining of staff.

We have to set this against the tens of thousands of successful calls that are made and the fact that the transfer of these centres is a huge logistical challenge.

Vigilance is essential after the switch – if the 200 flawed call responses had resulted in 20 deaths, for example, it would be a national scandal, and the north-east is right to be wary.

“Their point being that controllers in Aberdeen would have known the location instantly”