National figures show improvement in 101 call waiting times

Derbyshire Constabulary has collectively welcomed the national release of 101 call figures which show a much-improved position following recent investment in staff and technology.

An average of 32,000 non-emergency calls are received every month in the Force Control Room at Ripley. Today’s figures show that wait times for 101 calls to be answered have reduced from 2 minutes 36 seconds in April 2024 to under 30 seconds between January and March of this year.

Welcoming the news, which was released on May 29th, Assistant Chief Constable Michelle Shooter said: "These figures are really positive news for the people of Derbyshire. We strive to offer a public focussed police service, and that starts from the moment a person picks up the phone to report something to us.

“We’ve worked hard to understand our non-emergency demand and we’ve put in place technology, which is helping to bring wait times down, improving the experience for the public.

“We’ve introduced software which automates our 101 call distribution and also offers a call-back facility – which means that people don’t have to hang on listening to the dial tone, we’ll call you back when you reach the top of the queue.

“We’re also developing our Digital Contact team – which is made up of trained call handers who respond to online messages, reports made through our website and Live Chat.

“By encouraging people with online access to report non-emergencies online, we are freeing up space on 101 for those who aren’t as tech savvy, or who can’t get online.

“We’ve also invested in our people – our call handlers are skilled staff who make time-critical decisions every shift, day and night. We’ve looked at our training provision and updated it, adapting our skills and knowledge to meet the changing nature of what is reported to us.

“We value our staff and we’re rightly proud of the service they are giving consistently across all contact channels: 999, 101 and digital.”