Northumbria Police handlers have been praised for dealing with 2,000 emergency calls over Christmas and New Year. Figures show that police contact handlers answered calls five times faster on average over this time period.
On average, calls to 999 were answered within two to three seconds, which is comfortably within the target time of 10 seconds. The ways that the public can report crime have also been broadened, through the enabling of Northumbria Police’s direct messaging function on social media.
Head of Communications for Northumbria Police, Rachel Walters, said: “This is great work by the team and shows their unwavering dedication to being there when people need us most.
“Christmas Day and New Year is a particularly busy time for the Force, and we’re often the first point of contact for people who require police assistance. So, it’s great to see that we exceeded our target answer time across the board and delivered a great service to our communities.
“We’d also like to thank the community for its support and for thinking twice before calling our emergency number over the festive period. Bogus calls to 999 waste valuable time that could otherwise be used helping people who genuinely need our urgent help.
“We’ve also recently made it easier for people to report non-emergency issues by adding a number of ways people can contact us online. Anyone with concerns can now direct message us on social media or access the instant chat function on our website, with a dedicated team ready to respond around the clock.
“For those who are unable to contact us online, we continue to offer support via 101. In an emergency, always call 999.”