LANCASHIRE’S new Police and Crime Commissioner has praised what are described as significant improvements in 999 and 101 call services to the public.

It follows a backdrop of public concern about police responses and resources, including in Pendle.

Commissioner Clive Grunshaw, a Labour politician elected in May’s local elections, looked at the police telephone calls system at his latest Accountability Board meeting.

The time taken to answer calls is an area of high public concern, he said. Although he said Lancashire Constabulary’s performance compares favourably to other forces, he wanted to understand what action was being taken to improve the service and reduce waiting times, particularly for non-emergency 101 calls.

Public concern about police responses and resources, including the closure of many smaller police stations in recent years, have been raised at some Lancashire councils such as Pendle. Complaints in Pendle have included the alleged time taken to answer 101 and 999 calls, call-handlers’ geographic knowledge of areas such as Barnoldswick and West Craven, and times taken for police to arrive at incidents.

Also, Pendle Council has heard that some 999 calls have reportedly been routed to North Yorkshire Police rather than Lancashire, with telephone networks possibly a factor. But earlier this year, the BT Group outlined its 999 systems with emergency authorities and other phone networks. Regarding Pendle, BT said it had no reports of any calls being misrouted by its operators. BT said it was for emergency authorities such as the police to comment on their individual call centre arrangements.

Regarding public calls this year, Mr Grunshaw, said Lancashire police received an average of 838 ‘999’ calls every day, plus almost 1,400 non-emergency ‘101 ‘ calls and between 55 to 60 on-line crime reports daily. But he said police control room performance  has increased significantly, along with the time taken by officers to arrive at scenes of incidents.

Between January  and mid-November, he said 94 per cent of 999 calls were answered within 10 seconds, with an abandonment rate when callers hang-up  of 0.2 per cent. Meanwhile, 93 per cent of calls to the non-emergency 101 number were answered within 40 seconds, with a 1.4 per cent abandonment rate.

Mr Grunshaw said: “Accountability Board meetings are where I hold the chief constable to account for the delivery of policing in Lancashire. As the public’s voice  it’s important I raise the issues that matter most to people. For most people, police force control rooms are the first point of contact when they have a problem.

“The public expect a range of ways to contact the police and rightly demand high customer service. When services fall short it directly impacts public trust and confidence. Therefore it’s encouraging to hear that callers are waiting less time across all calls for someone to answer. I’m pleased to see a renewed focus on on-line reporting to ensure people have a choice of channels.

“The constabulary has a real focus on early resolution of issues at the first point of contact and identifying those at risk of greatest harm, whatever contact channel they use. I am satisfied the force is ensuring an appropriate response and deploying front-line resources where necessary.”

He said the meetings enable him to really get under the skin of policing, look at what is going well, where more can be done and also how to build on imminent Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspection results.

After the Home Office, HMICFRS it is the second-most important institution which inspects UK policing issues and effectiveness.

Lancashire Chief Constable Sacha Hatchett added: “The marked improvement in both 999 and 101 service to the public is testament to the hard work and dedication of officers and staff.

“Force control rooms handle a huge volume of contact from the public and the complexity is increasing. Add to this on-line contact and social media conversations and the challenges are clear.

“Those who work within the force control room really are on the front-line of policing. They handle thousands of calls around the clock efficiently and empathetically. I am proud of the service they deliver to the public.

“We’ve made significant changes to the force operating model, deployed better technology and improved our processes. I hope the public are reassured that if they call us, we will be there when they need us.”