Police 'answering calls faster than before' - PCC says

Gloucestershire Constabulary are now answering 999 calls in an average of six seconds

Calls to Gloucestershire Police are being answered "quicker than they have ever been", the county's Police and Crime Commissioner has said.

The latest figures from the office of the PCC (OPCC) show 999 calls last month were answered in just over six seconds on average, while the average wait for a 101 call has gone down from more than six minutes last year to one minute.

In May, police received almost 20,000 calls relating to emergencies and non-emergencies.

The force was criticised by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) in 2021, who rated the force as "inadequate" in five out of 10 key performance indicators.

In March 2024, another HMICFRS inspection raised "serious concerns" over how the force responds to the public.

Following the reports the force hired more call handlers and increased training.

'More experienced call handlers'

The OPCC said that a year ago, people had complained of being kept waiting on the line for so long, that they often gave up.

But the newly released figures, for May and June this year, show that on average, the force answered 999 calls in just over six seconds.

The OPCC also said the force had been consistent answering 101 calls in under two minutes since December.

The percentage of abandoned calls has also seen a downward trend.

PCC Chris Nelson said call answering times had been one of the areas of "most concern"

Supt Anton Campbell, current head of the constabulary's force control room, said the latest figures represented a "very pleasing and consistent trend".

"There are a number of reasons for this," he explained.

"Significant investment in the department, both in technology and staff, has made it easier for callers to reach the service they want and has also enabled us to retain more of our experienced call handlers."

PCC Chris Nelson added: "The constabulary is now quicker at answering 101 non-emergency calls than it has ever been.

"Average waits are now less than two minutes, which compares well with many other public services.

"This has been one of the areas of most concern during the last inspection by His Majesty's Inspectorate and I congratulate them on the improvements that have been made in performance."