West Midlands Police 999 response times getting longer

The average time for an officer to attend an emergency call is now 23 minutes, compared to just 12 in 2016.

West Midlands say its response times have been affected by a decreasing number of staff and an increasing number of 999 calls.

The Police and Crime Commissioner has blamed a lack of funding for the government and called for "proper support".

The data, provided by a Freedom of Information Request, shows response times decreased from around 22 minutes to 12 after West Midlands Police moved to the new P1-P6 grading system in October 2016.

However, response times began to slip again and last year they were at the highest they have been for five years.

The figures also show that the summer months are the busiest for West Midlands Police.

In 2018, the average response time for a 999 call in July was nearly 27 minutes, compared to 17 minutes in February.

Reassured

West Midlands Police aims to attend 90 per cent of emergency calls within 15 minutes.

Despite missing its target, the force has reassured the public its officers will attend as quickly as possible in an emergency.

Chief superintendent Steve Graham, the head of force response, said: “Over the past five years, the number of police officers has reduced from 7,294 to 6,674. Over the same time frame, the number of emergency 999 calls has increased from 549,384 to 741,673.

“The pressures of getting to a higher number of emergencies with fewer people has therefore affected our response times.

“Despite this, we can assure the public that when police are called in an emergency, we will do all we can to arrive as quickly and safely as possible and give the highest quality of service we can."

Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson added: "West Midlands Police has lost £175 million and more than 2,000 officers since 2010.

"This shows once again why West Midlands Police needs to be properly supported by the government."