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15 January, 2018

Julia welcomes reduction in 101 call waiting times

Julia Mulligan, elected Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, has welcomed a reduction in 101 call waiting times after a series of improvements were made last year.

Julia published the latest updates on the performance of North Yorkshire Police’s Force Control Room ahead of the Police and Crime Panel last Thursday.

The figures showed that since changes were made—including a recruitment drive, the introduction of operator and call back facilities, and a queue-buster system—the average time taken to answer a 101 call fell from three minutes 35 seconds in August to one minute and 32 seconds in November.

Julia said: “I welcome this news and I’m pleased that we are starting to see the benefits. Non-emergency and emergency call waiting times are shorter and abandonment has improved across the board.

“Of the new recruits planned, 12 Communications Officers have already been trained and accredited to perform their role, and a further 16 are currently undergoing training. In addition 14 dispatchers have been recruited.  Six of these are currently in tutorship and will be accredited to carry out their role by early February with a further six set to start work in April.

“I also very much welcome the decision to recruit students in the force control room. As well as the recent recruitment campaign to increase permanent staff numbers to deal with increasing demand, a pool of part time workers who want and need to be flexible around their studies, will help to reduce 101 and 999 waiting times, meanwhile allowing them to gain valuable experience helping a vital public service during its peak times.

“Whilst I’m pleased that call times are reducing and I’m hopeful that improvements over the past six months will mean the force control room can better react to changes in demand, I will still be monitoring the situation carefully. We know there is still a long way to go, and I thank members of the public for their patience and understanding as we work to bring about these changes, some of which will take time to implement.”

The 101 service remains a standing item on Julia’s monthly Public Accountability Meetings, which anyone can watch live online or catch up via the website.

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