Avon & Somerset Police Top The Charts
Avon and Somerset Police have been recognised nationally for the timeliness of answering 999 calls, with an average answer time of just 6.1 seconds.
The 999 Performance Data shows the total number of 999 calls received by each organisation on a monthly basis and how they perform against the Home Office’s target of 10 seconds. This is the first time figures of this sort have been released to the public.
Head of Command and Control, Becky Tipper, added: “It has been a challenging year with increased 999 demand. The entire control room team have worked extremely hard to ensure we are there for those who call us as quickly as possible.
“999 must be prioritised for those who are in an emergency where life is at risk or offenders are on the scene. For nonemergencies, reports can be made online via our website reporting forms. The website Avon and Somerset Police topped the tables, can be accessed 24/7 and is an effective taking 22,767 calls in a six month period, with alternative to calling. There is also our 101 for 15,434 of them being answered in under five anyone wishing to report non-urgent matters. seconds, and 5,274 answered in five to 10 seconds. “During busier demand periods, there is a call-back option on the 101 non-emergency Chief Constable, Sarah Crew, said: “I want to line, which results in the caller retaining their congratulate the control room for coming first place in the queue but not being required to nationally for speed in answering 999 calls. stay on the line. By doing this you are helping Having a fast response time to answering us to free up our call handlers to deal with 999 calls is vital, especially when the caller is emergency incidents on 999 and will be in distress or the emergency is ongoing. supporting us in saving lives.” “Being able to reassure members of the public that we can answer their call quickly after they dial 999 is a great service and I could not be prouder of our contact centre provision for supporting callers during, what could be, a terrible time.”
PCC Mark Shelford said: “Calling 999 can literally be a matter of life and death so I am delighted that Avon and Somerset Police has been identified as a high performing force. It has been a challenging few years and I do not underestimate the commitment from the control room team – a huge congratulations to each and every one of you.
The Contact Centre, based at headquarters in Portishead, has a team of call handlers receiving both 999 and 101 calls. They work “Local people deserve the very best police in partnership with dispatchers to co-ordinate service and I hope this news, that Avon and the organisation’s police resources. Somerset Police is the fastest force for answering 999 calls, provides reassurance While our 999 answering response is the and encouragement for our communities.” fastest in the country, this is because it is used as an emergency-only line, and we If you would like to consider a career within would like to encourage people to continue to our Control Room, we are currently recruiting use it purely in this way. call handlers and dispatchers to join us. You will be the first point of contact taking calls and providing immediate support, reassurance and advice to the public.
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