Police Control Rooms Risk Being Swamped By 999 Calls

Police control rooms are in danger of being overwhelmed by 999 calls as the public 'lose faith' in the 101 non-emergency service, a watchdog has warned.
Members of the public are waiting so long to have 101 calls answered they 'give up', turning to 999 instead, according to a report by HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.
It said 999 calls rose by 11 per cent from 2016/17 to 2018/19, putting control rooms under huge pressure.
Police control rooms are in danger of being overwhelmed by 999 calls as the public 'lose faith' in the 101 non-emergency service, a watchdog has warned (file picture)
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Police staff are also handling increasing numbers of 'non-police' matters - such as homelessness, drug and alcohol problems, or mental health issues - because other agencies don't have the resources to deal with them, the report found. 
'Police control rooms are in danger of being overwhelmed by the ever rising and increasingly more complex demands they face,' the watchdog said.
Phil Gormley, the HM Inspector of Constabulary who wrote the report, said the 43 forces in England and Wales must adopt a national standard on answering calls from the public rather than continuing with a patchwork of local targets
Large numbers of 101 calls went unanswered, the report found. 
Of the 30,183 calls transferred to 101 by Sussex Police in March last year, 45 per cent - or just under 13,000 - were abandoned. 
Phil Gormley, the HM Inspector https://penzu.com/p/1059161e of Constabulary who wrote the report, said the 43 forces in England and Wales must adopt a national standard on answering calls from the public rather than continuing with a patchwork of local targets.
'We expect the police service during 2020 to make sure that it has agreed a standard for how quickly forces must respond to 999 calls,' he said.
'Inconsistencies in how police forces respond to calls from the public need to be eradicated or else they risk being overwhelmed by rising and increasingly complex demand.
'The control room is one of the engine rooms of a police force.
'If it doesn't have the right systems and processes in place, the force won't have an accurate picture of demand.
'This will affect its ability to respond to calls and investigate crimes effectively.

It can also prevent the most vulnerable in society getting the help they need.'