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The work of Bedfordshire Police’s Force Control Room as the first port of call for the public is being celebrated as part of International Control Room Week (21-27 October).
As part of the awareness week, the force is recognising our ‘headset heroes’ including call handers, dispatch agents and video response officers.
Superintendent Graham Bates, head of Public Contact, said: “After investing a lot of time and resource to improve our Force Control Room, it is incredible to know that we are now a top ten performing force in relation to answering 999 within 10 seconds.
“Our current year to date figures show that we are answering 91% of all 999 calls within 10 seconds. That said, the force is still experiencing extremely high demand which can rise further at peak times, such as the upcoming Halloween and festive periods.
“The public can continue to help us by thinking about their best port of call when contacting the police.
“However, we have also this year begun implementing Right Care, Right Person as a scheme which can signpost partners in health or social care who may be best placed to offer support to someone in medical need.
“We also continue to get people misusing the 999 and 101 service, with recent ‘emergency’ calls being made for situations such as someone forgetting their phone password or seeing their neighbour’s cat in their garden.
“I’d urge the public to consider if they really do need police help and, if so, make use of one of the many ways to contact us in a non-emergency, including our web-chat service, online reporting forms for particular instances such as collisions, and of course, 101.
“Of course, in an emergency, you should always call 999 and our specially trained contact operators will be on hand to support you and ensure you receive the appropriate response.”
Contact operator Dan, who has worked in Bedfordshire’s control room since July 2023, said: “We get everything from people calling about parking, all the way through to major incidents, and everything in between. It’s a massive spectrum.
“The most challenging thing is that when anyone contacts the police or any emergency service, they are potentially having the worst day of their life. Unfortunately, we also have to deal with the resourcing that we have available to us, and we are constantly reviewing the circumstances of jobs to ensure that officers are prioritised accordingly.
“I would describe my role in three words as challenging and fast-paced, but hugely rewarding.”
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