North Yorkshire Police's improved 999 call answer times hailed

Inspectors reported concerns about North Yorkshire Police following a visit in October 2022

Call handling improvements at a police force previously one of the slowest in the country to answer 999 calls have been hailed a "tremendous achievement".

The number of calls to North Yorkshire Police answered within 10 seconds had risen from 74% in December 2022 to 90% a year later, a new report said.

Meanwhile, average wait times for non-emergency calls fell from five minutes 27 seconds to two minutes 21 seconds.

The improvements came in the wake of a critical report by the police watchdog.

In 2022, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found North Yorkshire Police required improvement in several areas, including responding to calls from the public.

The force brought in an improvement plan after HMICFRS inspectors said the speed with which emergency calls were answered and responded to was "well below the national standard".

'Genuine progress'

North Yorkshire Police had since gone from 45th out of 45 nationally to 25th for its performance dealing with 999 calls, according to a new report by Zoë Metcalfe, North Yorkshire's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

That improvement came despite the force receiving 16% more emergency calls than the year before, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mrs Metcalfe's report added that the number of 999 calls to North Yorkshire Police which took more than one minute to be answered had dropped from 4% to 1%,

She said: "It is fantastic the clear improvement plan put in place following the initial inspection last year has led to genuine, embedded and measurable progress in keeping the public safe and feeling safe."

She added she was "delighted" investment put into the force control room had led to the inspectorate recently declaring that the call answering issues had been resolved.

Mrs Metcalfe's report said: "To see the single cause for concern removed just 12 months on from the initial inspection is a tremendous achievement, and testament to the hard work of both the chief constable and their whole team and, crucially, demonstrated the effectiveness of public oversight."

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