Portsmouth 999 centre opens to tackle volume of calls

It is the second call handing centre in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight

Emergency calls to the police have been directed to a new city hub for the first time.

Teams will handle calls to 999 and 101 from the contact management centre located inside the new base at the Portsmouth Investigation Centre on Airport Service Road.

They will also oversee online reports.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary hopes the move will reduce waiting times for callers across the region.

Changing demands

The first of the force's new call handlers have already started to take calls from the new base, supported by experienced colleagues from Southampton Central Police Station.

Chief Constable Scott Chilton said the handlers would be dealing with "critical, frontline policing" and could experience some "extremely difficult situations".

More new staff are expected to start within the next two months, bringing the number of employees to 40.

Aimed at meeting "changing demands", the hub's launch is part of an ambition to improve response times for those in need of help.

Concerns have previously been raised across England on the volume of mental health-related calls police forces were receiving.

In July, it was announced that police officers in England would no longer respond to concerns about mental health if there is no risk to life or crime being committed.

Donna Jones, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said: "One of my priorities as Commissioner is to make it easier for people to report crime and that has meant significant improvements being made in call handling specifically the 101 service."

Over the last three months, the call handling time has dropped to "just minutes", making Hampshire and the Isle of Wight one of the quickest forces in the country to answer the phone, she added.

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