Agenda item

12.05pm

To receive an update from the PCC on the Contact Management Centre which includes an update on the performance of “101” Calls and on-line reporting.

The Panel was provided with an update from the PCC on the Contact Management Centre which includes an update on the performance of “101” Calls and on-line reporting.

The Chair thanked Superintendent Bullivant and his staff for hosting a visit by several Panel Members to the Contact Management Centre.

The PCC reported that there had been problems making 999 calls from Samsung mobile phones has there had been an update to the firmware, where pressing the side button on the mobile phone, put the caller through to the emergency services. There had been hundreds of thousands calls made from these devices which had inadvertently dialled 999. This caused a big issue to police handling centres nationwide.

There had been significant calls coming in, which had caused operational problems. The PCC referred to callers to 101 who called 999 when they could not get an answer.

The PCC provided an update on some of the developments which would be taking place to improve performance.      

Members’ Questions

1.      The PCC was asked about the plans to recruit because of the deficiency in numbers and the programme to recruit would be implemented by July 2024. The PCC was asked if there was a way this implementation day could be brought forward to deal with the deficiency issues. In addition, the PCC was asked about the suitability of the shift patterns for staff and whether flexibility could be given to this.

[The PCC said he would take this away and have a look at the practicalities of bringing this date forward.]

A Member expressed his thanks for enabling Panel Members to visit the call handling centre and referred to the human element of this operation where staff worked remarkably well with limited resources. The pressure the call handlers worked under was immense and their work was stressful. They required care and attention, and the message should be passed onto the public to be more patient and understanding of the situation.    

A Member referred to the offer given to Panel Members to sit and observe at a local control room which he would recommend.

2.      A Member referred to a call he had made to 999 and which was referred to another force area because of the volume of calls and that this call was in relation to a live crime. The PCC was asked why were calls answered by non-Thames Valley call handlers?    

[The PCC replied that calls could be referred to other force areas (Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire) during busy periods. There was an anomaly when calling 999 if the caller when using a mobile phone was close to the border of another force area, with that call referred to that force area.]   

3.      The PCC was asked about on-line reporting and how could this be increased to relieve the pressure on 101 and 999 calls. The PCC was asked if there were targets set to improve the use of on-line reporting. In addition, in relation to abandoned calls, there were also some calls which were disconnected. Was there any monitoring of these calls?   

[The PCC acknowledged that there was an opportunity there with the possible use of the “chat box” service, using robotics. Thames Valley Police was part of the single on-line home system which was a national system and procured by the Metropolitan Police. The on-line system needed to be more user friendly.

In relation to disconnected calls, there was a technical challenge such as the reliability of some of the systems. BT as the 999 operator, have been contacted regarding some connectivity issues which causes calls to be disconnected. This was outside the control of the Contact Management Centre.] 

RESOLVED – That the report of the PCC be noted and the responses given to Members’s questions.