Number of emergency calls soared to highest level everÂ
Police are struggling to cope with the highest numbers of 999 calls ever recorded, force chiefs have revealed to The Mail on Sunday.
England’s biggest forces took more emergency calls than ever before last month â€" with some major cities even busier than they are on New Year’s Eve or at Halloween.
Soaring rates of violence and theft are feared to be behind the surge in demand, which have seen neighbourhood PCs being redeployed to respond to urgent cases.
Officers were already under strain from having to work longer shifts and cancel rest days to keep the country safe in the wake of four deadly terrorist attacks.
Police are struggling to cope with the highest numbers of 999 calls ever recorded
Chief Constable Simon Edens, spokesman on performance management for the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), said: ‘Chiefs have been concerned about a sense of a surge in demand and pressure on our officers and staff in the last few months with four terror attacks, on top of a longer term increase in the complexity of police work. Initial data from forces shows an unprecedented increase in 999 calls in recent months, increases in violent crime and theft and an increase in the numbers of officers not being able to take their rest days because of operational need.’
Forces around England and Wales were asked to compile the latest figures on 999 call volumes and crime rates by the NPCC after concerns began to circulate earlier this year that demand was soaring.
Th e data show that across the country, 999 calls are up 11 per cent in the past year. But recently the number has spiked with ‘many forces’ experiencing ‘unprecedented’ volumes in May and June.
Forces covering London, Manchester, Birmingham and the East Midlands had their ‘highest-ever 999 call volumes’ last month.
Most forces have seen ‘particularly high volumes in recorded crime’, especially theft and violence since March.
One force alone saw a 69 per cent rise in violence against the person between March and June, compared with the year before, and an 81 per cent rise in robbery.
In the West Midlands, which covers Birmingham, huge increases in emergency calls have coincided with a staff shortage in control rooms â€" and the force has had to take on 57 new call-handlers to cope.
The force took more than 6 5,000 emergency calls in May and even more in June, more than in any previous month. It reached a peak on June 18 with 2,816 calls to 999 â€" far more than the 1,749 received on New Year’s Eve.
Chief Superintendent Sally Bourner
Chief Superintendent Sally Bourner said: ‘Call demand is at unprecedented highs âˆ' and on both June 17 and 18 we took more calls than on New Year’s Eve, which is traditionally our busiest day. The high call demand has coincided with a staffing shortage in our call centres. However, we’re now fully staffed.’
She added that people should only call the police for ‘genuine’ matters, saying: ‘Last month we took a call on 999 from a mum saying that their child was refusing to go to school. Clearly this is not a police issue.’
Leicestershire Constabulary took 10,000 more calls between April and June than in the same period last year, creating what Chief Constable Simon Cole called a ‘huge challenge’ for the control room team. Greater Manchester Police has seen a nine per cent increase in 999 calls. Like other forces, it is experimenting with web chats and more use of the 101 non-emergency number to reduce pressure on 999.
Alex Marshall, the outgoing chief executive of the College of Policing professional body, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘In some forces it’s been like Halloween or New Year’s Eve every day for the past three months, which is very unusual.’
He said the situation has been made more challenging because up to 1,500 detectives are working on historical cases, including the public inquiries into child abuse. Huge numbers of officers have been sent to other forces to help out, particularly after the terrorist attacks in London and Manchester, while large numbers are off sick with mental health problems.
The increased pressure on police forces has prompted fresh calls for the Government to urgently increase their funding, following seven years of budget cuts.
Last night, Steve White, chairman of the Police Federation that represents rank-and-file officers, said: ‘These figures are yet further evidence, if any was needed, that policing has reached crisis point.’
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