PCC responds to 999 Performance Data
The 999 Performance Data which was released today as part of the Government’s Beating Crime Plan details the time it takes for forces to answer 999 calls. Thames Valley Police answered 83% of 999 calls in under 10 seconds.
Matthew Barber, Police and Crime Commissioner said “I believe the public should feel confident in calling the police in an emergency. This increased transparency helps me to hold the police to account and improve performance. I am pleased that on all of the measures published today, Thames Valley is above the national average. Our call handlers work hard to provide the public with an efficient and professional response.
“My greater focus however remains on the performance of the 101, non-emergency service. In the majority of cases calls to 101 are answered in a timely fashion but I am only too well aware of the frustration to members of the public when they can’t get through as quickly as they should reasonably expect. I will continue to challenge the Chief Constable on this as the force works to deliver an efficient and responsive non-emergency reporting service.
“I encourage the public to tell us their views on emergency and non-emergency reporting systems via the Police Contact Survey which is open until 29th June.”
The national survey will help inform Thames Valley Police, other forces and the Home Office about the challenges faced and inform the development of future plans.
You can complete the survey at Crime Reporting – National Public Contact Survey (2022) (smartsurvey.co.uk)
Home Secretary, Priti Patel, said:“Calling 999 can literally be a matter of life and death. The public deserve to know that their local police force will be at the end of the phone, ready to leap into action at seconds’ notice to protect them from harm.
“Fundamentally, publishing this data is about driving up standards in our incredible emergency services even further, so that the public can have every confidence in the police’s ability to save lives and keep our streets safe.
“We can now see where forces are excelling and where vital improvements need to be made and I thank the police for their commitment to ensuring we maintain the best emergency services in the world.”
On average across the UK, police forces receive a 999 call every three seconds. 71% of these are answered within the target of under 10 seconds, with an overall average of 16.1 seconds answer time.
The data is accessible to the public via www.police.uk where they can access their local force’s data under the 999 performance data tab.
