Wiltshire Police have announced a dramatic improvement in 101 call answering times, with waiting times slashed by more than two-thirds in the past year.
Data released by Police.uk reveals that the average 101 call answering time in April 2024 was just 5 seconds, a stark contrast to the 16 seconds recorded in March. This represents a significant reduction from the peak of 37 seconds experienced in June of last year, traditionally a busy period for the force.
The improved performance is attributed to a strategic focus on the customer journey within the Contact Centre. Wiltshire Police have implemented more dynamic staffing strategies, particularly during peak hours, and have empowered operators to handle both emergency and non-emergency calls with greater flexibility.
Furthermore, the force has prioritised the well-being and experience of its Contact Centre staff, leading to a higher retention rate and a more experienced team.
The improvements extend to 999 emergency calls, where Wiltshire Police have consistently met or exceeded the national target of answering 90% of calls within 10 seconds for the past six months.
Like other forces nationwide, Wiltshire Police have adopted smarter staffing solutions to minimise waiting times, ensuring that calls are answered promptly and people receive help more efficiently.
Chief Inspector Allen Lumley commented on the team’s efforts, stating: “Over the last two years the Contact Management team has put in a lot of work to improve our wait times, including:
- A focus on quality of service delivery through enhanced training and quality assurance audits
- A dynamic operating model designed to flex to incoming demand
- Increased recruitment into vacant posts
- Increased situational awareness for operators and supervisors through the use of technology
- Daily performance oversight and scrutiny
"We want to make sure that we provide a sustained focus on putting the caller at the heart of what we do – staying empathetic to each and every caller, despite around 10,000 101 calls and 8,000 999 calls for service every single month.
"It has taken a long time to turn around our performance because of the time it takes to embed these things and start to bear the fruit of our hard graft.
"We will continue to work hard to enhance our performance and solidify the efforts made this far."
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