A third of calls to Hertfordshire Constabulary ‘turn out not to be for police attention’
Hertfordshire Constabulary estimates a third of the calls it receives are not a police emergency.
The force is urging residents to report non-urgent crimes online and free up the phone service for urgent situations.
Each day, an average of 500 emergency 999 calls and 1,000 non-emergency 101 calls are made to the constabulary’s force communications room (FCR) at headquarters in Welwyn Garden City.
“If it’s an emergency, always dial 999, of course,” said FCR Superintendent Jon Roche. “But if it isn’t an emergency, you can report online or use our live web chat, which comes directly into the FCR – to a person, not a chatbot.
“Currently, around one-third of all calls into Hertfordshire’s FCR turn out not to be for police attention and should have been directed to other organisations, so we’d also ask people to pause and consider: is this a police matter?
“If you’re unsure if your enquiry is for police or another organisation, you can find out by visiting the www.askthe.police.uk website.”
Online reports are assessed by experienced call handlers – the same people who take 999 and 101 calls – and dealt with as if they were taking the report over the phone.
The advice is to dial 999 because of immediate danger or if the situation could escalate.
“If you’re not sure if calling the police is the correct avenue for your enquiry then, if possible, please check online,” said Supt Roche. “The information you’re seeking could be there for you already via our website, a council website or another service provider.
“If you want to report a crime which has already happened and is not in progress, then use our online reporting facility to log it and obtain a crime reference number.
“We want to ensure our phone lines are free for those potentially life-threatening and crime-in-action 999 emergency calls rather than responding to queries which could be dealt with online.”
Report non-emergency crimes, damage-only road traffic collisions and more online at www.herts.police.uk/report, speak to an operator in the FCR via online webchat at www.herts.police.uk/contact or call non-emergency number 101.
