Cumbria Constabulary has achieved first place for emergency 999 call answering times.
Each month national 999 call answering figures are published, with the June figures released this week.
Figures: 999 data performance | Police.uk (www.police.uk)
The figures show that Cumbria Constabulary was the best performing force in the country for percentage of 999 emergency calls answered within 10 seconds.
The performance is far from a one-off. The same data show that Cumbria Constabulary is one of only a handful of forces consistently amongst the top performing for answering 999 calls in less than 10 secs, featuring in the top six every month since January.
Chief Inspector Graham Hawley said: “Being able to swiftly respond to emergencies begins with the speed with which 999 calls are answered, which is why we are particularly proud of this achievement,
“Reaching the top of the table for June 2023 is the result of a consistent approach we have shown to prioritising the service we provide to those who contact the Constabulary – both for emergencies and non-emergencies.
“The published figures demonstrate that this achievement is far from an anomaly and I can assure the public that the Constabulary will continue to strive to be amongst the best performing police forces in the country moving forward.”
The recognition comes as the Constabulary enters its busiest period of the year – the school summer holidays. The coming weeks will see the population of the county increase enormously as people travel from across the country and beyond to spend their summer here, resulting in a significant increase in calls to the police.
Ch Insp Graham Hawley said: “One of the factors which has helped us to achieve our 999 call answering goals has been the behaviour of the public.
“We regularly remind people not to call 999 unless it is an emergency and to look first to online reporting rather than the phone when contacting the police for a non-emergency.
“This keeps our Command and Control Room available to answer the most urgent calls on our 999 emergency line.
“By continuing to do this, people can help ensure that their police force’s emergency call answering times remain among the best in the country.”
Cumbria’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Peter McCall, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for Cumbria Constabulary and highlights the dedication the Police have to continuously improve their services to the public.
“Keeping the county as safe as possible is a community responsibility and through the education and understanding of when to call 999, the public has helped us succeed in reaching the top of the national table.
“I’m sure the Constabulary will continue to excel in 999 call performance and to grow and improve across the organisation.
“I want to encourage the public to continue to use 999 only in emergency situations and use 101 in non-emergencies. I’d like to recognise and thank our control room staff for their exceptionally hard work, commitment and dedication to serving the public in achieving this result.
“Together we can continue to make Cumbria an even safer place to live.”