PCC responds to 999 performance data
Norfolk's Police and Crime Commissioner has today responded to the release of performance data setting out how long it takes police forces around the country to answer 999 calls.
The 999 Performance Data which was released today as part of the Government’s Beating Crime Plan shows that forces across the UK received 5,218,350 calls between 1 November 2021 and 30 April 2022, averaging a call every three seconds.
The published data shows the total number of 999 calls each force receives on a monthly basis and the percentage of calls answered under the Home Office target of ten seconds, the percentage answered between 10 and 60 seconds and the percentage of calls which take more than 60 seconds to answer.
The first data set, released today, May 31, shows that in the last six months Norfolk Constabulary has an average time to answer a 999 call of 8.53 seconds putting it fifth in the tables nationally and with the fastest response time in the eastern region.
The data also shows that 84% of 999 calls are answered within 10 seconds and a further 15.5% of 999 calls are answered between 10 and 60 seconds.
Responding to the release, Norfolk's PCC Giles Orpen-Smellie said: “Ensuring that the people of Norfolk have an effective and efficient policing service that responds to their needs is at the heart of my Police, Crime and Community Safety Plan.
“I welcome the publication of this data for all forces and the way it enables people to see clearly how the service is performing.
"The constabulary’s response times to 999 calls and also how quickly officers reach the scene of emergencies are the subject of regular reporting to me through my publicly held Police Accountability Meeting, but it is positive to see this data being more widely shared.
“I am pleased to see that Norfolk Constabulary is performing well, with one of the best response times in the country over the last six months. The constabulary has been able to invest in its control room and emergency response through previous council tax precept increases and we can see this investment has been a positive move.
"How quickly officers attend the scene is not shared in the publication of this data but will also be important to people. I was pleased to hear in my May accountability meeting that in the last 12 months, in urban areas the constabulary has been meeting its target of attending 90% of emergencies within 15 minutes. In rural areas, that target has been met 85% of the time.
“These figures show the force is performing well against targets, but there will always be more to do, and we must not be complacent.”
The data has been been published on the ‘Performance’ page for each force on www.police.uk under the tab ‘999 Performance data’.