Urge for people to use 999 responsibly as improvements in force contact continue

We are continuing to make improvements in our force contact centre in the wake of persistent demand, but we’re still getting calls which aren’t genuine emergencies. 

Significant investment in resources and training has been carried across all of our contact services, including 999, 101 and our triage function, to improve the service we provide to victims during their first point of contact with us. 

And, whilst we don’t want to discourage people from calling 999 in genuine emergencies, we are still getting a large number of calls to our emergency line which are inappropriate.  

This 999 call, where a man has called about a parcel he is unable to collect, is a perfect example to highlight. It is a waste of police time and could delay our response in getting to people who desperately need our help. We have digitally disguised and obscured the caller's voice to protect their identity.

Other recent calls that we have received have included the following:

• "My cat has got into my neighbour's property and they aren't home"
• A letting agent reporting that a dog was in the garden of one of their properties
• An animal carcass found on the side of the road
• A sink hole appeared in someone's garden
• Complaining that a road diversion wasn't suitable

Unfortunately, calls of this nature are far from isolated occurrences. They not only waste police time, but they also delay our response in getting to people who desperately need our help.

Chief Superintendent Paul Talbot, who oversees our contact centre, said: "The first point of contact between a victim and the police is paramount to everything we do, and that’s why we’ve invested so much time and effort into improving our contact centre. 

"Unfortunately, some people abuse this vital line of communication, by, either intentionally or unintentionally, calling us about matters that have nothing to do with the police.

“We are continuing to improve our 101 and digital reporting services too, which can be used in non-emergency situations. We know that there’s still more work to be done, but we’re urging people to only call 999 if they have a genuine emergency so we can get to those in desperate need as quickly and effectively as possible. 

“If you’re calling about a non-emergency, our staff are trained to signpost your call to the most appropriate agency or team, which eases the demand on our 101 line and helps us speak to more people about their concerns.”

In 2023, we experienced record-breaking 999 demand. On Saturday 9 September, we took a staggering 1,000 999 calls in a 24-hour period. In the same week, we also exceeded the demand expected on New Year’s Eve on four separate occasions – making it one of the busiest weeks we’ve ever had in Staffordshire.

Despite this unprecedented demand, we’ve been working hard to answer the highest priority calls as quickly as possible. Our average time to answer 999 calls in August was nine seconds, which is within our target of ten seconds, despite calls being well above expected volumes.

We’ve also been working hard to address the concerns outlined in HMICFRS inspection report into our contact centre. We’ve worked closely with the Staffordshire Police, Fire & Rescue and Crime Commissioner, Ben Adams, to uplift staffing, improve training and signpost people to the most appropriate service when they first call us.

Ben Adams said: “Improving the service people receive when they call 999 was a priority for me as Commissioner when I was first elected, and it remains a priority in my Police & Crime Plan.

“It’s absolutely fundamental that calls are answered quickly and that the Police are able to assess and deal effectively with the most vulnerable in our communities at the first point of contact.

“Significant work and investment are underway within Staffordshire Police to ensure the service can continue to meet demand, and the public can also play their part by only calling 999 in a genuine emergency.”

In December, HMICFRS discharged this area of concern following these improvements and welcomed our increased performance in answering 999 calls, and identified a number of improvements that inspectors had observed first-hand.

To read more about how we are improving our responses to the public, please go to: HMICFRS update: Significant improvements made in responding to the public | Staffordshire Police