Call waiting times and complaints to police reduce

Complaints about police call-handling in Devon and Cornwall have reduced from 60 a year to five, with people now waiting 30 minutes less on average to get an answer when they call 101.

Police and crime commissioner (PCC) for the two counties Alison Hernandez will tell councillors at a meeting next Friday that call abandonment rates are also dropping, which is being interpreted as giving an impression that people are more satisfied with the service.

Ms Hernandez will tell the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Panel, which is meant to hold her to account, that “an extensive programme of work” to improve the speed of answering calls and respond quickly to enquiries made through the force’s website, had delivered “tangible and consistent improvements” to the service the public receive when they contact police.

In the 12 months to August, 310,007 emergency 999 calls were received, an average of 847 calls a day. During this period, 93 per cent of them were answered within 10 seconds and the average time people waited for a response was four seconds. Last year’s figures were 83 per cent and 15 seconds respectively.

Calls to the 101 non-emergency service, kept the callers hanging on for 37 minutes on average in the year to August 2023, but are now picked up in less than five minutes, last month’s figures reveal. Althought abandoned calls reduced from 61 per cent to 27 per cent over the year, it still means one in four people give up before speaking to the force.

But almost all (98 per cent) of people ringing 101 who requested a call back were contacted successfully.

Feedback from the public using 101 wsa “generally positive since its introduction last year”.

“Furthermore, the calls and correspondence that the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner receives from the public relating to 101 wait times has dramatically decreased, reflecting the improved service the public are now receiving.

“In the last 12 months the office has received just five contacts about 101 call wait times, whereas in the previous year around 55 to 60 emails, letters and calls were received on the subject.”

The latest inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services on police efficiency, effectiveness and legitimacy (Peel) (2023-25) acknowledged that improvements had been made to address  control room performance, but the force is still rated as inadequate in responding to the public.

The police and crime commissioner’s report says that whilst inspections are useful, they are retrospective and do not always reflect current performance.

In Devon and Cornwall, 12 police enquiry offices have now been reopened by the commissioner, which are getting around 300 visits a day in total.