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Northants Police Review 101 Number

23 April 2019, 19:22 | Updated: 23 April 2019, 19:25

Northants Police are changing the way they deal with non-emergency 101 calls after getting more than half a MILLION in the last year.

There's now a call back option; the force say they aim to answer everyone's call within 60 seconds - but then you be put into a priority position to be dealt with or you'll now get a call-back option.

The force is also reminding people they can report non-emergency issues online.

With the launch of a catchy new video and outdoor advertising, the force aims to educate callers about why, and how long they may wait, when calling 101 and how they can now report some non-emergencies easily and conveniently online.

A new campaign has been launched aimed at increasing awareness among the public of how calls are dealt and why some may take longer to resolve.

The control room, which on average takes just over 1,178 calls a day, is often the first point of contact with the police for many people.

With the launch of a catchy new video and outdoor advertising, the force aims to educate callers about why, and how long they may wait, when calling 101 and how they can now report some non-emergencies easily and conveniently online.

Superintendent Ash Tuckley, who heads the control room, said:

"Every year, we take hundreds of thousands of calls into the control room. Not all of these are emergencies and not all of these require an immediate police response.

Inevitably what happens is that the queue builds up because everyone is trying to call one central call centre. This can lead to long wait times. We’re hoping that this campaign and pledge will better inform people of how long they can expect to wait when they call us and prompt people to think about whether they need to make that call or if it’s something that they can do online at their own convenience.

Crucially though, we hope that the messages will help to educate people about the process of threat, risk and harm assessment that each caller undertakes and which leads to that call being prioritised accordingly.

We want people to be aware of how long they may wait, and in the case of non-emergencies, may be offered a call back option.

We know that people don’t like waiting when they call 101, but with large numbers of calls coming in, if it’s not a higher priority it may end up in a queue. "

Last year – 2018/19 – control room operators answered 280,531 calls to the 101 number, averaging 1,178 calls a day, of which 320 were 999 calls. By comparison, on average only 167 crimes were recorded a day.

Calls relating to individuals with mental health issues, social needs, vulnerable cases or people reported missing have increased - calls that often take longer to deal with.