A ‘remarkable’ milestone has been hit by West Yorkshire Police’s Contact Centre, who have gone three years without abandoning a single 999 call.
Despite demand on the Force increasing yearly, and with the recent spikes due to the Coronavirus pandemic, large scale events and protests, the contact centre has consistently hit its national targets on emergency calls and not abandoned a single 999 call since June 2017.
Senior Contact Manager Tom Donohoe shared his pride in the team, saying,
“At a national level, there have been concerns about abandoned 999 calls and answer times for emergency calls.
“However, our teams have continued to work exceptionally hard under immense pressure and continue to ensure West Yorkshire Police can provide the best response possible to those who need it.
“I am extremely proud of all our staff who have pulled together to reach this remarkable achievement and for the support we receive from other units within the Contact function to help us maintain this critical service to the public. Now the challenge is maintaining this level of consistency for another year.
“In order to allow our officers and staff to keep these standards up, I would encourage the public to use our online options – when it is not an emergency – as this will help keep demand on the lines down.”
West Yorkshire Police’s Contact Management Centre continues to be one of the busiest in the country – handling on average 2,800 101 calls per day and 1,250 999 calls, with peaks hitting around 2,000 calls on occasions such as recent Bank Holidays. There is also significant number of on-line contacts.
The Force is continuing to encourage the public to utilise online reporting methods in order to keep demand down and to only call 999 in an emergency.
In recent months, the contact centre has handled 25,000 to 35,000 contacts per month by this method but have capacity to handle much more.
For additional information on West Yorkshire Police’s Contact Management Centre visit their Website
