Extra police staff to handle calls in Staffordshire

So far 24 workers have been taken on by Staffordshire Police since November and a further 32 call handler jobs are being created in the coming months.

It will boost the total number of workers at the call centre by a fifth.

The average response time to the 101 number rocketed to six minutes in November from just 60 seconds in February last year, but is now falling again.

Staff are based at a new control room at police headquarters in Stafford, rather than being spread across that site and Hanley Police Station.

Chiefs launched the recruitment drive amid reports some people had wait up to 40 minutes for their telephone call to be answered

One of the reasons given for the delays was that staff needed to settle into the new centre's system - but police and crime commissioner Matthew Ellis said it was a 'real concern' and vowed to take urgent action.

Bosses say average response times are now below 60 seconds again but they want to ensure this continues.

A new 'queue buster' system has also been introduced where, if there are no staff available, callers can leave their details and be called back rather than waiting on the line.

The system then passes the details to the next available handler and returns the call automatically.

The percentage of 999 calls answered within 10 seconds has improved from 66 per cent in November to 86 per cent.

Mr Ellis said: "Being able to contact Staffordshire Police in a timely way for both emergency and non-emergency calls is something the public should take for granted.

"There will always be differences in day-to-day and week-to-week performance depending on rising and falling demand.

"But the worsening performance over several months was a matter of real concern for me, the public and the police."

He added: "This has been a serious issue which through joint effort is now being resolved.

"The call centre and other staff involved in the contact centre have worked beyond what would normally be expected to try to get things back on track and my thanks and admiration go out to all those who have dug so deep in difficult circumstances."

A report on the issue states: "On average the public will now be answered within 10 seconds when calling 999 and the waiting time for 101 calls has reduced significantly with the queue buster option being available during periods of high demand."