Statement on new league tables which show how quickly police forces answer 999 calls
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In response to the publication of new league tables which show how quickly police forces answer 999 calls, North Yorkshire Police’s Lead for Contact Management, Assistant Chief Constable Lindsey Butterfield, said:
“We welcome the release of the 999 Performance Data today which shows the high level of demand being placed on call handlers every day, both in North Yorkshire and nationally. The publication of this data is a key part of us being open and transparent with the communities we serve.
“It is also the first-time police forces, and the public, have been able to see data related to the time taken to answer 999 calls on a consistent basis across forces.
“Along with every other force in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, here in North Yorkshire we strive to answer 90% of 999 calls within ten seconds. Currently, we’re achieving that target 44% of the time. This falls below the standard that our communities deserve, and we are working hard to immediately increase that rate so people in need of our help get through to us quickly.
“Whilst there are a number of factors which impact on the speed at which 999 calls are answered, we recognise that we are not staffed to meet our current elevated levels of demand and we are investing in a number of measures to make improvements and get calls answered quicker.
“This includes putting in place enhanced recruitment plans for more staff within our Force Control Room. We expect to have recruited 10% above our establishment by September 2022. The additional 10% allows for the levels of staff turnover that we experience.
“We have also established a pool of reserve staff to deal with administrative tasks on behalf of the call takers in the Force Control Room. The additional costs for these interim arrangements have been funded by North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
“The dedicated team of staff who handle our calls within our Force Control Room work incredibly hard, in a very challenging environment. We will be recruiting for our next intake very shortly so if you or someone you know is interested in joining the team, please keep an eye on the jobs section of our website or register your interest via our vacancies page.”