Police struggle to deal with record demand levels as 999 calls surpass non-emergency calls
West Midlands Police is now dealing with more 999 calls than non-emergency calls as it continues to struggle with record levels of demand.
The force now regularly receives more than 6,000 crime reports a day, and the past weekend saw emergency calls exceed those to the 101 number for the first time.
The situation – described as "highly unusual" by police chiefs – has prompted Chief Constable Sir David Thompson to launch an inquiry into the surge in 999 calls in the wake of the pandemic.
A report to the Police and Crime Commissioner's strategic board, said the force was dealing with record levels of demand, with crime going up by 37 per cent over the last five months compared to the same period in 2019-20.
The force's performance when dealing with 101 calls has deteriorated markedly this year, with people kept waiting an average of more than 11 minutes in July against a target time of three minutes.
Speaking at a meeting of the Police and Crime Commissioner's strategic board, Deputy Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine, said: "We are seeing record levels of telephony demand, and that is a national issue, as well as here in the West Midlands.
"Our 999 calls and our 101 calls have increased by a significant number, and in fact, over the weekend we received 6,000 calls, and what is quite unique in that is that we are now seeing more 999 calls than 101 calls, which is a real shift for us.
"We normally see non-emergency calls higher."
DCC Jardine added that the force was "working on ways to manage demand" and admitted that the high waiting times experienced by callers were "not where we want to be".
She said the lifting of restrictions had contributed to calls rising. Mr Thompson said the situation did not mean that crimes was "exploding" and that a lot of the additional calls were not crime related.
PCC Simon Foster said the record number of calls was "putting a huge strain on the service" and highlighted the pressures that the force was facing.
He said "waiting times are longer than they should be", and as is often the case, he blamed the Government for his force's failings.
