Cause of concern over call answering times at Gloucestershire Constabulary closed by HMICFRS
A cause of concern at the time taken by Gloucestershire Constabulary to answer emergency and non-emergency calls has been closed by the inspectorate after “sustained improvements”.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Roy Wilsher congratulated interim Chief Constable Maggie Blyth and her officers and staff for “the continued improvement in this area”.
In a letter to Ms Blyth, Mr Wilsher said: “I am writing to you to confirm we are closing the cause of concern we raised in our 2023‑25 police efficiency, effectiveness and legitimacy inspection.”
The inspection had found that the constabulary needed to improve the time it takes to answer emergency and non-emergency calls, and also the time it takes to answer emergency calls for service.
“This was identified as a cause of concern when the constabulary was last inspected in 2021,” said Mr Wilsher. “In the year ending June 30, 2023, Gloucestershire Constabulary answered 59.2 per cent of its 999 calls within ten seconds. This was lower than the standard expected of forces in England and Wales of answering 90 per cent of 999 calls within ten seconds.”
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services recommended that within six months, Gloucestershire Constabulary should:
- Make sure it can answer a greater proportion of emergency calls more quickly to provide a better service for the public; and
- Make sure it can answer a greater proportion of non-emergency 101 calls so that caller abandonment levels are reduced and kept as low as possible.
Mr Wilsher said: “We revisited the constabulary in May 2024 and examined some of the work it had done to address the cause of concern. It had carried out peer reviews, renewed its recruitment efforts, provided mentoring and training for officers and staff, made improvements to IT systems, and introduced robust and proactive leadership within its control room.
“We found the constabulary had improved how promptly it was answering 999 calls. It had answered over 80 per cent of 999 calls within ten seconds over the preceding nine months. As a result, we confirmed the constabulary had completed our recommendation on answering a greater proportion of emergency calls more quickly.
“In May 2024, we found the constabulary had made some progress on how often callers to the 101 non-emergency line abandoned calls before they were answered. Since then, we have continued our monitoring to confirm whether it could sustain this improvement over the busy summer period.”
In his letter to Ms Blyth sent on December 9, Mr Wilsher added: “I am pleased to report that the constabulary has sustained an improved 101 abandonment rate over the summer, with a September 2024 year-to-date abandonment rate of 15.79 per cent.
“I am aware the monthly figure since then continues to be lower than this average. As a result, the constabulary has completed this recommendation and this cause of concern is closed.
“I congratulate you and your officers and staff for the continued improvement in this area.”