999 - help us to help you this Bank Holiday weekend

Sunday 5 June

It was another busy day for our Force Control Room (FCR) yesterday, Saturday 4 June, with over 1,500 calls received.

A total of 1,020 calls were made to us using 999, and we answered 88% of these in less than 8 seconds. Of these calls, 247 were graded as an emergency. We received 500 calls to 101, the phone number for reporting non-emergency crime.

Sadly, the inappropriate calls continued, including a 999 call from a lady reporting to us that she had no water supply. She was directed to contact her water supplier.

Another caller dialled 999 to request an update on an historical investigation, whilst a third called to ask for details about someone who had been arrested.

All police emergency calls in Essex come through to our FCR, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and has around 270 staff. 

Chief Supt Stuart Hooper, Essex Police’s Head of Contact Management, said: “It has been a busy Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend for call handlers in the FCR.

“Despite a high volume of calls, we have been able to respond to emergency calls quickly.

“My message remains clear – if you need to contact us about something that is not an emergency, please do not dial 999.

“If you do so, you are tying up call handlers who need to help people who find themselves in a real emergency and need and urgent response.”   

If you are considering calling 999 today, we would request that you please consider the following before dialling:

• Is this a police issue or is another service better suited?
• Is the information already on our website? www.essex.police.uk – Please check online
• Has a crime already happened and you want to report it? www.essex.police.uk – Report online
• Do you want to share some information with us or speak to someone specific? – Call 101
• Is it an emergency? Is a crime happening right now, or is life or property at risk? – Call 999

Please help us to protect you.

Saturday 4 June

Thank you to all callers who contacted us in the last 24 hours through the most appropriate channels.

Yesterday, Friday 3 June, our call handlers in the Force Control Room (FCR) received over 480 calls via 101, the phone number for reporting non-emergency crime.

A further 987 calls were made to us using 999, and we answered 93% of these in 5 seconds. For the second consecutive day this level of response comfortably meets a newly-set Home Office target for UK police forces to answer 90% of 999 calls in under 10 seconds. Of these 987 calls, it resulted in 230 graded as an emergency.

Sadly, our busy call handlers continue to receive inappropriate calls to 999. Yesterday, we received a 999 call from a customer in a pizza shop calling us to complain that he had been waiting 30 minutes for his food. Another man also called 999 to ask what the time was.

All police emergency calls in Essex come through to our FCR, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and has around 270 staff. 

It might be a gloomier start to Saturday, but with the sun expected to come out later in the day and major events like Creamfields South music festival continuing, we expect demand to remain high.  

Chief Supt Stuart Hooper, Essex Police’s Head of Contact Management, said: “I’d like to thank those people who contacted us yesterday through the channel that was most appropriate for their call.

“By doing so, you are freeing up our call handlers so that they can provide an almost instant response for people who find themselves in a real emergency and need to dial 999.

“Calling 999 must be a last resort and you should only use this service if you are reporting an emergency that requires an immediate and urgent police response."

Friday 3 June

As we enter the second day of the Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend, we would like to remind people across Essex of the most appropriate ways to get in contact with us.

Yesterday, Thursday 2 June, our Force Control Room (FCR) received just over 1,500 calls from the public, reporting around 1,400 incidents. All police emergency calls in Essex come through to our FCR, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and has around 270 staff.

On average it took our call handlers just under 5 seconds to answer 94% of incoming emergency 999 calls yesterday. This level of response comfortably meets a newly-set Home Office target for UK police forces to answer 90% of 999 calls in under 10 seconds.

But we continue to receive calls to 999 and 101 that are wholly inappropriate. One intoxicated man called us six times to report that his bank account was lower than it should be, before abusing our call handler. Another man called us to ask for the time, whilst a third called to ask if he had left his bank card in a police car the previous evening.

With Jubilee celebrations set to continue throughout the weekend, and Creamfields South music festival due to begin in Hylands Park, Chelmsford, we expect demand to remain high.

Chief Supt Stuart Hooper, Essex Police’s Head of Contact Management, said: “There are many different ways you can get in contact with us to report non-emergency crime.

“Yesterday our call handlers answered 90% of non-emergency 101 calls in 45 seconds, freeing up their colleagues to answer emergency 999 calls in under 5 seconds.

“Calling 999 must be a last resort and you should only use this service if you are reporting an emergency that requires an immediate and urgent police response."