Agenda item

To receive an update from Assistant Chief Constable Ian Saunders about the improvement plan for the Crime and Communications Centre.

Assistant Chief Constable Ian Saunders updated the Panel about the measures being put in place to improve performance at the Crime and Communications Centre (CCC). Points included:

·       The Assistant Chief Constable had joined Wiltshire Police in June and had found that the force was full of enthusiastic people that were keen to improve the service.

·       As the CCC had a relatively high number of inexperienced staff, the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Philip Wilkinson, OBE, MPhil, had agreed to fund 165 people staff to cover 145 posts. It was anticipated that the numbers of staff would decrease over time as the average level of experience increased.

·       As well responding to calls, the CCC had a responsibility to accurately record crimes within statutory timescales.

·       The CCC received around 111,000 999 and 92,000 101 calls per year as well as processing 65,000 crimes reported using the online system.

·       The CCC were looking at robotics and automation to help improve efficiency, as demand for services was increasing by approximately five percent a year.

·       The government had set a target for 90 percent of 999 calls to be answered within 10 seconds, but currently only five of the 43 police forces in England and Wales were meeting this goal.

·       As the staff in CCC gained experience they were able to answer a wider variety of calls, which allowed for greater flexibility in the way that resources could be delayed. There were good opportunities for progression and many CCC staff went on to become police officers.

·       The force had recently invested in the EISEC geolocation system which allowed calls to be transferred automatically from BT.

·       Digital boards had been installed at the call centre to help staff to review demand. The data on the boards had been updated to allow operators to improve their situational awareness.

·       As stated by the Chief Constable under her update, there had been a significant improvement in performance since August. The CCC were now just two percent away from the national target of answering 90 percent of 999 calls within 10 seconds. 

·       The recent Police Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Legitimacy (PEEL) inspection found that 25.8 percent of 101 calls were abandoned. However, it was likely that the true abandonment rate was significantly lower, as many people ‘phoned back or reported crime online. QueueBuster technology had been introduced so that the public could hang up and be called back. Some forces did have technology that allowed them to differentiate between calls that had truly been abandoned and those that got in touch at a later time.

·       The Assistant Chief Constable chaired an improvement board about transformational change and engaged with the Chief of Corporate Services, John Derryman, about the resources required to continue improvement. The Assistant Chief Constable’s role was to embed the technology and utilise the investments that had been made in the best possible way.

During the discussion, points included:

·       The Panel thanked the Assistant Chief Constable for his update and welcomed the progress that had been made in the time that it was taking to answer calls.

·       It was highlighted that EISEC technology had been around for 20 years.

·       In response to a query about whether it would be possible to set up a general enquiries line to reduce demand on the 101 and 999 services, it was noted that the contact details for neighbourhood teams were available on Wiltshire Police’s website and on social media. 

·       There had been a technical glitch with the call centre on Monday 10 November, leading to a delay in some 101 calls being answered. No 999 calls were missed as they were picked up in Gablecross Call Centre and diverted to other forces. People that had abandoned calls were ‘phoned back so that no emergencies were missed.

·       Assurances were sought that when landline ‘phones went fully online Wiltshire Police would have the resilience to keep ‘phone lines open during a power outage. The Chief Constable explained that there had recently been a multi-agency exercise to test a response to a complete power outage. She noted that a series of recommendations had been developed based on the exercise and that they had been shared with the agencies that had taken part. She could also share the relevant findings with the Panel. The Panel said that they would welcome this information and that they were keen to add it to their forward work plan. 

·       In response of a query about the length of time that 90 percent of calls were being answered in, the Assistant Chief Constable noted that he did not have those figures available but reassured the Panel that the calls there were not answered within 10 seconds did not take significantly longer. He stated that he could share further data about call response times.

·       The introduction of robotics would be a significant step forward as it would allow crimes reported online to be seamlessly integrated without the need to manually copy information. This would improve accuracy and allow call-centre staff to use their time more flexibly.

·       The PCC emphasised the importance of collaborating with other forces on procurement to secure economies of scale and explained that forces in South West England had taken the initiative in driving this forward. He noted that the government would be likely to mandate further co-operation and emphasised the importance of police forces ensuring that their views were taken account of in the process.

·       When asked about the prevalence of nuisance calls, the Assistant Chief Inspector confirmed that there had not been a significant rise in this issue. He highlighted that repeat calls were often made by people suffering with mental health issues and reported that the Thrive process had been embedded within CCC to help support people to get support in the appropriate way.

Other issues discussed under this item included:

·       Chief Constable Catherine Roper confirmed that there was no set target for the number of special constables in the force, but they were blessed to have a high number. The special constables volunteered thousands of hours and had recently played important roles in tackling youth violence in Swindon and Devizes. A new recruitment drive was underway.

·       The Assistant Chief Constable explained that the average length of service of a special constable was three and a half years. However, there were a number of special constables that had been with Wiltshire Police for decades.

·       The PCC explained that his office was now paying the federation fees for special constables, whereas previously, they had had to pay their own. He explained that in each year an award was given to the best special constable. This year, the award had been won by a drone pilot who had developed technology that could be attached to drone and detect mobile ‘phone signals.