Would you know what to do?

Would you know what to do if you answered a 999 call to someone asking for help? Regardless of your answer, you wouldn’t be expected to – that’s our job.
Our Contact Centre Officers are trained to confidently and effectively deal with an emergency call.

Our Contact Management Centre is the heart of Essex Police. It’s the first point of contact for those who need us.

Every year in Essex, we answer more than a quarter of a million calls to 999 and around half-a-million calls to our 101 service. Dispatching officers to those in need, our Contact Management Centre operates 365 days-a-year, seven-days-a-week, 24-hours a day.

As a Contact Centre officer you'll be trained to work quickly under pressure. You'll be taught the skills to remain calm, even in the most challenging of situations. While reassuring the caller, you will gather as much information as possible to help determine the response needed. This is integral in keeping both the public, and our police officers, safe. Your skills and professionalism mean we can continue to help people, keep our communities safe and catch criminals.

Talking about her experience of working in our contact centre, Liberty said: 

“Contact Centre Officers can really make a difference to someone who calls us needing our help.
“Those who call us will often be feeling frightened, worried, or distressed. But we can reassure them that they’ve done the right thing, and make sure that someone will be there to help.
“I applied for this role after studying Criminology at university and graduating with First Class Honours. At the age of 21, I hadn’t had the opportunity to apply my knowledge practically and so wasn’t sure if I’d be successful in my application to become a Contact Centre Officer.
“But I’m pleased so say I was and now every time I answer a call, I get to help someone.
“My advice to anyone who would like a career in policing – go for it!”

We make sure that all our Contact Centre Officers are skilled, equipped, and able to deliver an effective and efficient service to our communities. This includes making best use of the technology available.

Control Centre Supervisor, Daniel, enjoys the variety that the role offers:

“The role is really varied. We receive calls and need to deal with a whole range of reports from burglary and public disorder to collisions on the road and murder.
“Being a part of our response as a police service is not only interesting but rewarding too. To know that I’ve helped to make sure someone gets the help they need, or assisted in preventing a crime, or catching a criminal, feels good.
“One of my favourite things to do is provide support to our officers responding to an incident, by watching the live video link when the police helicopter is in flight in pursuit of a suspected criminal or trying to find a missing person.”

Contact Centre Officer, Beverly Lawrence shares how much she enjoys her job:

“I always wanted to be a police officer. When I was 19, I joined the Metropolitan Police Service as a Special Constable. It was a role I really enjoyed. I regretted not returning after I had my children and becoming a regular police officer.
“But fast-forward to January 2023 and I became a member of the team within the Contact Centre at Essex Police and haven’t looked back.
“I love my job. I love knowing we are keeping the people of Essex safe. I never know what my working day will consist of and who I’ll be helping. It’s a very rewarding role and getting back into policing is the best decision I’ve ever made. I’m even applying to become a Special Constable again!”

We currently have job opportunities in our Contact Centre. If you'd like to learn what to do when someone calls 999 and how you can help them, visit our Contact Centre page. Here you will find out more about the role and how you can join the team.