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17
Oct
North Yorkshire Police deal with nearly 7,000 more 999 calls over the year
North Yorkshire Police has seen a 12% increase in the number of 999 calls over the financial year to date.
Its force control room staff picked up nearly 7,000 more calls than they did over the same period the year before, prompting Jo Coles, York and North Yorkshire's Labour deputy mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime, to praise their work.
Hosting a regular online public meeting on police performance, Ms Coles said:
To see an increase of almost 7,000 emergency calls compared with the same period last year demonstrates the scale of demand our teams are managing.
Despite that pressure, staff continue to answer calls quickly, professionally, and compassionately, while maintaining performance above the national standard.
The online public meeting was hosted by deputy mayor Jo Coles (top left). ACC Catherine Clarke (centre) presented the performance data.
Asked what had caused the increase in 999 call numbers, a North Yorkshire Police spokesperson told us:
We can’t attribute it to any single reason or event. Most police forces across the country are seeing similar increases in demand, and work is ongoing nationally to better understand the factors behind this trend.
Despite such a significant upturn in demand, North Yorkshire Police has exceeded its performance targets.
Across the UK, police forces are required to answer 90% of 999 calls within 10 seconds – the standard set by the national service level agreement (SLA). North Yorkshire Police has consistently outperformed the SLA over the last 12 months; in September it answered 94.6% of emergency calls within the time limit.
Revealing the data during the deputy mayor's online public meeting, assistant chief constable Catherine Clarke attributed the positive performance to "good leadership and new systems".
North Yorkshire Police force control room.
The force only saw a minor 1% increase in 101 non-emergency calls, but also performed above the SLA requirement.
Nationally, police forces are supposed to answer 80% of 101 calls within five minutes, but again, North Yorkshire Police has beaten that target every month for the last year. Last month, it answered 86% of 101 calls within the time limit, and its average call pick-up time was two minutes 30 seconds.
Ms Coles added:
I would like to personally thank every member of the force control room team for their dedication and commitment to serving communities across York and North Yorkshire. Their work often goes unseen by the public, but it is absolutely vital in ensuring people receive help when they need it most.
These figures are a testament to the resilience and professionalism of our staff, who continue to deliver an excellent service in the face of rising demand.
As the combined authority's deputy mayor for policing, fire and crime, Ms Coles hosts online public meetings monthly, alternating each month between policing issues and fire service performance.
Members of the public may submit questions up to 48 hours before each meeting using the North Yorkshire PFCC Your Voice Portal.
Live streams of the meetings are available on Facebook, YouTube, and the deputy mayor's official website.
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