Changes to how 101 calls are handled

Bedfordshire Police have changed the way they habdle 101 calls to improve the service for people who need it the most, and manage call wait times.

Calls are now assigned based on the threat, risk and harm. Callers are prioritised through a triage team and transferred to a relevant call handler, who will deal with their matter depending on the nature of their call and the urgency of the required police response.

This way, the public won't be stuck in a queue for a long period of time. The 999 service will remain the same and should be used in an emergency or if a crime is still in progress.

Force Contact Centre Chief Inspector Jamie Langwith said: "Our contact centre is open 24/7 and it is our responsibility to provide our services to those who need it the most. Sadly we still receive a number of calls which should have been directed to our partners or to the local authority. With this change in the way we assign calls, we hope to reduce the waiting time for callers, and give priority to people in genuine need of a police response. We would also like to reassure the public that each call will be directed to an appropriate call handler in order to provide the highest level of service. We hope this will improve the waiting time for the remaining callers, who can always request a call back at a more appropriate time."