New data has been released today as part of the Government’s Beating Crime Plan, detailing the time it takes for forces to answer 999 calls.
In the UK, police forces have a target of answering 90% of 999 calls in under 10 seconds. New data has revealed that only one force has met this target, Avon and Somerset police.
The published findings shows that one police force, Humberside police, only answers 2% of calls in under 10 seconds.
Thames Valley Police fell below the target with 83% of 999 calls being answered in under 10 seconds, but were above the national average of 71%.
Matthew Barber, Police and Crime Commissioner said “I believe the public should feel confident in calling the police in an emergency. This increased transparency helps me to hold the police to account and improve performance. I am pleased that on all of the measures published today, Thames Valley is above the national average. Our call handlers work hard to provide the public with an efficient and professional response.
“My greater focus however remains on the performance of the 101, non-emergency service. In the majority of cases calls to 101 are answered in a timely fashion but I am only too well aware of the frustration to members of the public when they can’t get through as quickly as they should reasonably expect. I will continue to challenge the Chief Constable on this as the force works to deliver an efficient and responsive non-emergency reporting service.
“I encourage the public to tell us their views on emergency and non-emergency reporting systems via the Police Contact Survey which is open until 29th June.”
The national survey will help inform Thames Valley Police, other forces and the Home Office about the challenges faced and inform the development of future plans.
You can find out more here: Police and Crime Commissioner seeks Milton Keynes residents views on 101 and 999 services
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 now 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.”
The data is accessible to the public via www.police.uk where they can access their local force’s data under the 999 performance data tab.
