Police forces put plans in place to improve emergency calls service
More staff, dedicated teams dealing with complex calls and new systems have been pledged by police forces across the region to improve how they deal with emergency calls.
West Midlands Police and Staffordshire Police have both committed to improving the experience for people calling 999 after a recent league table ranked each force within the bottom 10 for mean answering time, with West Midlands ranked fifth slowest and Staffordshire ninth slowest.
The forces detailed the work to improve the quality of calls, including recruiting and training new call handlers, developing dedicated teams for complex calls and a new contact management system to help improve the experience at first contact.
Chief Superintendent Andy Beard, head of Force Contact at West Midlands Police, said: “Call handlers in West Midlands Police are working extremely hard to respond to record levels of demand from the public, which is continuing to grow.
"Last month alone, we saw a 23 per cent rise in 999 calls compared to April 2021, when the country was in lockdown, equating to an average of 2301 999 calls a day.
"This has continued to increase in May and we are now seeing an average of 2711 999 calls a day.
“People ring 999 in their time of need and they expect to be answered almost immediately and while we answered more than half of 999 calls within 10 seconds last month, on average people were waiting just over 30 seconds which is too long."
Chief Superintendent Beard spoke about what the force would be doing to improve the experience for people calling 999, starting with recruiting more staff to take calls.
He said: "We’re also creating a dedicated team to deal with some of the most complex calls from vulnerable victims which can take much longer to deal with as we take important information from them there and then.
"The new team, who have had special training in dealing with such sensitive calls for help, will ensure victims get the right support, while enabling other staff to deal with other urgent calls.
"We’re still getting lots of calls to us which turn out to not be police matters or don’t require a police response.
"These put extra pressure put on call-handlers, who work tirelessly to provide the right support and advice in someone’s time of need. Our advice is always – if it’s not 999 then go online for advice, and the ability to Live Chat with our staff.”
A spokeswoman for Staffordshire Police said the force received an average of 569 emergency 999 calls every day and had seen an increase compared to the previous 12 months.
She said: "Over the last 12 months, the force has experienced an 22 per cent increase in 999 calls compared to the previous 12 months. This is a national trend which is likely to continue.
"Whilst 999 calls remain a priority, they are becoming more complex and the time it takes to deal with them is increasing. Call handlers assess the threat, harm and risk to the caller and the community and sometimes resolve problems over the phone.
"Improving the service you receive when you contact Staffordshire Police is a key focus and we have invested heavily over the past few years to improve our contact services and offer alternative methods of contact for non-emergencies, notably our digital contact services via social media, the force website and ‘live chat’.
"We are starting to see an improved picture in call handling time thanks to a new triage process and the training of new staff.
"We will also be investing in new technology/a new contact management system to improve the experience at first contact.
"The new local policing model, which launches at the end of June, will see further investment in the Contact Centre, bringing in more resources, so we can improve the service you receive when you first contact Staffordshire Police."
