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West Yorkshire, UK, Feb 2023 - As part of our commitment to providing an efficient and cost-effective service to the public, we have reviewed our public help desk provision.

Our help desk officers provide a valuable service, but the way that the public interacts with us has changed, with increased use of the non-emergency 101 number and online contact options.

The review looked at whether the public help desks were providing the best possible service based on community needs, public and internal demand and the changing use of technology.

Among the findings, the review found that:

The five help desks at the district headquarters account for 73 per cent of all contact via the help desks.
Contact at help desks from members of the public after 8 pm equates to less than three per cent of the overall total demand.
Across the period analysed, there appears to have been a reduction in total contacts at help desks across the Force.
Contact through online services has risen significantly, from 86,000 per year when the current help desk model was introduced in 2017 to 280,000 per year in 2022.

Following this review and a period of internal consultation, West Yorkshire Police has taken the decision to permanently close a number of public help desks and reduce the opening hours at other sites. This will not affect the provision of 24/7 patrol and neighbourhood police officers who will continue to be based and operate from locations across the county.

Under these changes, there will still be help desks in each of the five policing districts for essential face-to-face contact. Public help desks will be maintained at the five district headquarters, as well as Dewsbury Police Station, Stainbeck Police Station and Keighley Police Station.

Superintendent Mick Rutter said: "These are not decisions that we have taken lightly, but it is important that we are providing a cost-effective service to the public.

"This review has helped us understand how our help desks are used at different locations at different times of the day. The changes that are now being put in place will ensure that members of the public are still able to access help desks across our five districts at the locations that they most frequently use.

"Our help desks are just one way that the public can interact with the police, and they are complemented by the 999 and 101 phone lines and our online contact options. In recent years, more and more people have been utilising our free and easy to use online options, which include forms to report crimes and anti-social behaviour and 101 Live Chat which allows the public to have a two-way conversation with someone from our Contact Centre."

"We have been running a reduced help desk service for some time due to staff shortages and, alongside this review, have been recruiting and training new staff to enable us to have eight public help desks open across the Force area. I would like to thank the public for their patience during this time," Supt Rutter added.

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Posted by Veronica Silva Cusi, the news correspondent
Source: https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/

Date Posted: Sunday, February 12, 2023