Changes to Devon and Cornwall Police’s 999 call answering service have propelled it up the response times leaderboards, thanks in part to contact centre technology.
In November 2022, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, Alison Hernandez announced the target of 90 percent of 999 calls to be answered within ten seconds. At that time, the Devon and Dorset police force had been ranked near the bottom of the police call response league table at 41st out of 44.
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To improve its response times, it switched to an “AACC7” callback system, introduced a switchboard triage service, and reopened six public enquiry offices (PEOs) throughout 2022 and 2023.
By December 2022, the Devon and Cornwall police force had met 90 percent of the target and, in August 2023, it was ranked as the best-performing force in the UK, with 88% of calls answered within 10 seconds.
Since August, more than 90 percent of call times have been answered within ten seconds.
A report by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, stated: “The Commissioner has invested significantly in contact services and called on the Chief Constable to put in place a number of mitigations to address poor performance.
“The key introductions of switchboard triage and a callback function are already delivering improvements, and the force is now focusing on consolidating improvement activity and maximising productivity.”
In October 2023 the average wait time for a 999 call to be answered by Devon and Cornwall Police was 6 seconds, representing a reduction of 25 seconds since its answering times in October 2022.
During 2023 the number of 999 calls has increased, with a peak of 34,861 in June 2023. Call handling times have continued to reduce overall, in spite of this increase.
The introduction of a callback service and a triage service has reportedly helped to improve response times, allowing callers to speak to human agents within 30 seconds before being redirected.
Plans for Further Improvement
There is still work to be done, however, as Hernandez admitted the average call waiting time for non-emergency 101 phone calls is 47 minutes.