Night-time 999 response times have increased

Police response times to night-time emergency calls have increased across the country, according to figures published by the Labour Party.

The party sent Freedom of Information requests to all 43 forces in England and Wales, and of the 27 forces that responded, 20 recorded an increase in response times from 2011 to 2014.

The request covered the highest-grade emergency calls that took place between 11pm and 6am, when Labour says people need the most urgent help.

Last year Labour conducted a similar exercise but included daytime response times. Overall these figures showed an improvement in response times.

However, this year’s request only related to night-time figures, meaning overall response times cannot be assessed.

Bedfordshire Police and Devon and Cornwall Police showed the largest increase in response times – 57 per cent and 50 per cent respectively.

Bedfordshire’s response time rose from seven minutes in 2011 to 11 minutes in 2014, while Devon and Cornwall’s average increased from six minutes to nine minutes in the same period.

Two forces, Lancashire Constabulary and Sussex Police, recorded improvements over the past three years, with falls of 11 per cent and nine per cent.

Essex Police, West Mercia Police, Hertfordshire Constabulary, Kent Police, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and Staffordshire Police all recorded increases of between 27 and 38 per cent, equating to two to three minutes.

Response times at five forces – Thames Valley Police, Lincolnshire Police, Norfolk Constabulary, Northumbria Police and West Midlands Police – were unchanged over the three years. The average increase across the country was 17 per cent.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the statistics are the direct consequence of government cuts to policing, adding: “999 waits have gone up significantly for the most serious emergencies – and that means victims are being put at risk.”

Bedfordshire Police Superintendent Mark Upex said: “We are a small force and have to balance dealing with a high demand in our urban areas with also covering a large rural area.

“We are in the process of re-modelling the way we work to enable us to significantly reduce the time we take to respond to 999 calls. This will include deploying officers from sites across the county to allow us to reach rural areas quickly and we are confident these changes will improve our response times in the future.”

Devon and Cornwall Police Chief Superintendent Jim Nye said the demand on 999 calls has increased but officers were still attending more incidents with fewer resources and the vast majority of incidents within target times.