During 2003 the Force moved towards a Call Management System with the introduction of the Call Handling Centre.

So how does it work?

The Call Taking Centre /Switchboard receives all telephone calls except 999 calls. Each call is assessed and passed to the relevant person or department. If the call is assessed as urgent, it will be passed direct to the Control Room for immediate action and will by-pass the Call Handling Centre.

The Call Handling Centre deals with all incidents or enquiries passed to them from the Call Taking Centre/Switchboard, which are not urgent. Where it is not possible to resolve the call on the telephone and there is a requirement to send an officer, an incident log will be created and the log will be passed to the Control Room.

The Control Room deals with all "999" calls, grades the calls and sends an officer immediately.

The Call Centre is open from 0700 hours until 12 midnight throughout the week and until 0200 hours on Friday and Saturday. Any other time the Control Room receive the telephone calls.

In brief, the handling of a call through the telephone system typically goes through three stages:

Initial Contact Assessment Resolution

The resolution stage can occur in the following ways:

Immediate attendance by officers Attendance by officers but not immediate Record only Advice only Enquiries and reply only, without sending an officer Pass to another department or organisation

The Call Centre switchboard receives approximately 70,000 calls per month, 20,000 of which are passed to the Call Handling Centre to log, resolve or arrange for an officer to attend.

We are aware however, that there are improvements to be made and constant reviews are in place.