A new contact centre has been opened that will see emergency calls to the police answered in Portsmouth for the first time, in a bid to help further reduce waiting times for residents across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight; The new contact centre will further improve the capability across the force, meeting the changing demands.
In a boost to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary’s ability to answer 999 and 101 calls, the new hub will see call handlers based in the city, alongside those working out of Southampton Central Police Station.
The Contact Management Centre handles the calls into the force from the public on the 999 and 101 numbers, as well as online reports – The team also records crimes and creates incidents for deployment to the Police Control Room, as well as responding to reports of crime and enquiries from the public via the Single Online Home.
The first of the force’s new call handlers have already started to take calls from the new base at the Portsmouth Investigation Centre, supported by experienced colleagues from the Southampton centre.
Chief Constable Scott Chilton, said: “Our call handlers play a crucial role in our policing of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. They deal with the critical, frontline policing; dealing with some extremely difficult situations.
“Our call handlers are now picking up calls quicker, and responding to concerns that members of our communities had. This second Contact Management Centre will improve our ability further to answer these calls as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in South East England.
The force area includes Southampton, the largest city in South East England, and the naval city of Portsmouth.
