News : Spike in 999 Calls to Police over Summer Period

Aylesbury, UK, Dec 3, 2018 -- Emergency calls made to police across the Thames Valley increased by 10,000 over the summer, placing a "significant drain" on already overstretched services.
There were also reports some Bucks residents were waiting up to half-an-hour to get through to police after calling the non-emergency line, 101, over the busier period.
However addressing a meeting of Bucks County Council, Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police (TVP), Francis Habgood, assured members the average wait time for 101 calls is around six minutes.
He added the time it takes for 999 calls to be answered has increased from around three seconds, to 10 seconds however it has "generally been pretty consistent".
Sponsor message - content continues below this message
Employee Engagement Awards NOW OPEN!
Enter your center,and compete for this prestigious award to attract new staff and show investors and customers you are #1 in your nation!!
Content continues ….
On average TVP receives around 25,000 calls per month, but between June and July it rocketed to 35,000, putting added pressure on the contact centre – where staffing levels were down by 10 per cent.
Ch Cons Habgood said:
"[We get] around 25,000 calls a month. In the summer that shot up to 35,000, so 10,000 extra 999 calls in one month.
"That put a significant drain, because we will always prioritise the 999 calls. There was a bit of a spike, from what had been going down, in terms of 101s as well.
"The consequence of that meant we were really struggling to deal with the volume of calls, as well as the complexity of some of those calls coming in.
"At the same time we were down on the number of some of our contact centre staff by about 10 per cent, most contact centres now work on really fine margins.
"If you are not up to the full establishment it, has a disproportionate impact on your call handling statistics."
However an online service has now been launched, which allows people to report crimes online, and the contact centre is now fully staffed – which the force hopes will alleviate pressure on services.
Ch Cons Habgood added:
"It’s not perfect yet and the system will get better over the next year, but we are trying to provide that opportunity for people who are comfortable using online and for who it’s appropriate, so then we can preserve the telephone system for people who don’t want to use online."
Posted by Veronica Silva Cusi, news correspondent
Source: https://www.mix96.co.uk
Related Editorial
- 999 Calls to Thames Valley Police Encreased by 10,000 over Summer, 'Draining' Already Overstretched Services
- Cambridgeshire Police Get a 999 Call Every FOUR Minutes
- Frustrations Continue Over South Yorkshire’s Hard-pressed 101 Police Contact Service
- People are Having to Wait More Than 30 mMnutes on Calls to Cornwall Council
- Improvement to How Force Answers 101 Calls
- Council Helpline for EU Citizens Trying to Stay in UK After Brexit 'Does Not Work'
More Editorial From Thames Valley Police
Published: Thursday, December 6, 2018
Industry Suppliers | Get Listed |
![]() | EkoCCS Contact Center Services Founded in 2010, Eko Contact Center aims to be a fresh, dynamic and accurate business partner for its customers thanks to its contemporary operation, technical infrastructure, sector-specific software... (view more) | |
![]() | Horizon Contact Centers Horizon is an on demand international Contact Center and (BPO) Company. | |
![]() | Marketing Call Center Marketing Call Center is certified in ISO 9001: 2008 and operates offshore in the field of telemarketing and customer relationship management. | |
![]() | Verint Verint Systems is a provider of analytic software-based solutions for the security and business intelligence markets. Verint solutions transform voice, video, and text into actionable intelligence - m... (view more) | |
Get Listed |