Half of 999 calls to North Yorkshire Police were not answered on time last month, according to the force’s own figures.
The force’s control room received 9,572 emergency calls — the highest ever number for the month of August.
However, 50 per cent of those were not answered within the 10 second target set nationally.
Half of calls met the target and 45 per cent were answered within five seconds, according to police.
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Deputy chief constable Phil Cain told a North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner accountability meeting yesterday that on average the force answered 999 calls within 22 seconds last month.
He said:
“We want to get a lot better at that.
“The challenge for us is balancing against the volume increase of three nines we are receiving since the easing of lockdown restrictions versus some of the staffing challenges we have got in the control room.”
DCC Cain said police were creating long and medium term plans, which include using technology and additional staff, to improve response times.
Overtime plan
The move comes as the county’s police, fire and crime commissioner, Philip Allott, approved £69,000 worth of funding in July for the force to create an overtime plan and hire six more call handlers for busier times.
An additional £70,000 was set aside should more funding be required until the end of October.
A decision notice on the commissioner’s website said:
“The requirement for this available funding will be reviewed at the end of October and the commissioner expects to see proposals brought forward through the next round of budget setting to ensure the longer-term sustainability of the force control room.”
Mr Allott told the Stray Ferret in July that he expected improvements in response times in the coming months following the easing of restrictions and after improvements to the service were made.
