West Midlands Police has 'considerably' improved 999 call performance - but top cops demand more
Responses to emergency calls to West Midlands Police have “considerably improved” but the region’s top cop has called for more improvement.
In his annual report, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster said the demand on both the 999 and 101 in 2023/24 had increased with the majority answered within the service level agreement limits.
And he said this was a marked improvement on the “marked dip” in the performance in the 2022/23 year.
According to figures, the force received 810,868 calls to the 999 number in 2023/24 of which 93 per cent were answered within the 10 second limit.
There were a further 655,829 calls to 101 in the same period with 76 per cent answered within the three minute limit set.
Between April 2022 and March 2023, West Midlands Police received 679,387 calls to the 999 service with only 71 per cent being answered within the 10 second limit.
For the 101 number, the force received 561,344 calls in 2022/23 with only 30 per cent being answered within the three minute limit.
In his report, Mr Fosters said: “Following a considerable dip in West Midlands Police’s performance regarding the response to 999 and 101 calls during 22/23, this year, I have worked with the Chief Constable to review Force Contact and their operating model to improve this.
“From April 2023 to March 2024, West Midlands Police have considerably improved their emergency call performance on both 999 and 101 calls.
“This improvement has occurred as demands on both 999 and 101 services have increased compared to last year.
“There was an increased demand for 999, totalling 810,868 calls received.
“Overall, 93 per cent of these calls were answered within 10-seconds, as per the service level agreement (SLA).
“Demand had also increased for 101 with 655,829 calls received, with 76% being answered within 3-minutes in line with the SLA.
“There still remains scope for improvement in 999 and particularly 101 services.
“In the coming year, I will continue to hold the Chief Constable to account, to drive continuous improvement in relation to the 999 and 101 service provided, to ensure the public receives the service it is entitled to.”
