Police chief blames delays in answering 101 calls on understaffing and pocket dials

A police chief has blamed delays in answering 101 calls on understaffing, rising demand and accidental pocket dials. Avon and Somerset Police has received an increasing number of both emergency and non-emergency calls over the last year, with delays getting longer.

Only four in five 999 calls in Avon and Somerset are answered within a target of 10 seconds, and increasingly more people are abandoning 101 calls after waiting too long for an answer. Mark Sheldon, the police and crime commissioner, pressed for an explanation for the rising delays during a performance and accountability board on Wednesday, September 20.

Chief constable Sarah Crew said: "101 is the first contact point for many members of our community so it's very important that we do everything in our power to make sure that contact is as effective as possible. But I acknowledge that for some, it doesn't feel that way."

Over the last 30 days, the police force received 86,500 calls into the emergency control room, and more than a third were 999 calls. Avon and Somerset, and other police forces, have also seen a marked increase in the number of calls over the last year.

Ms Crew said: "That increased volume of 999 calls is having an impact on the non-emergency 101 number and our ability to answer it in a timely way. I know callers are waiting longer than we would like, because we have traditionally been one of the best performers in the country in this area.

"We've not been at full capacity over the last 12 months, despite continuously recruiting. We're finding that staff who might want to work in the emergency control room are being attracted elsewhere by better salaries, working from home, and different working conditions."

Existing call handlers have also been successful in applying to become police officers, creating further vacancies in the control room. Another issue is pocket dials, where people accidentally ring 999 while their phone is in a pocket or bag.

The chief constable added: "When you accidentally call, the natural reaction is to stop the call. But that actually causes more work for us because we do need to satisfy ourselves that that wasn't a genuine call. So we do take some time then to try and find the owner of that phone and check they're OK."

The police advise anybody who has accidentally rang 999 to stay on the line and explain what's happened, rather than immediately hang up. This is so call handlers can check that they're safe.

Earlier this year a new call handling centre was opened in Bridgwater. Police chiefs hope that the extra site will encourage more people to apply for control room roles, both in Bridgwater and their headquarters in Portishead. They are also exploring how to use artificial intelligence for routing calls which might "cut out the need for a human" in some cases.

Call handlers start on a salary of between £23,100 and £25,353 but face a gruelling shift schedule with frequent 10-hour shifts and overnight working. One example of a shift schedule is two earlies from 7am to 5pm, two lates from 1pm to 11pm, two nights from 11pm to 7am, and then four rest days.

Job applications can be made online Job application link https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/apply/jobs-and-volunteering/communications-centre/emergency-communications-operator/