Police Forces Under 999 Call Response Pressure Due to Rising Cuts

Emergency services are under huge amounts of pressure and are finding hard to respond to 999 calls in an effective manner. The number of calls are on the rise while the police force and other emergency services are suffering budget cuts and there are not enough police officers to deal with calls.
A recent report conducted by the policing watchdog Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services has highlighted that police forces are taking too long to respond to 999 calls – sometimes even taking days – when, ideally, all “prompt” response calls should be dealt with within the hour.
The report, that was meant to paint a clearer picture of the effectiveness of the police force, shows that nearly 25 per cent of all forces across England and Wales are feeling an increasing pressure due to budget cuts and are struggling to respond promptly to emergency calls.
Calls considered to be for “prompt” response are cases of violent assaults, domestic violence and sexual assault, amongst others.
The police forces that are struggling the most are West Midlands, Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire. They are under increasing stress as there budget continues to be cut, not enabling them to have the resources they need to deal with the growing amount of calls.
“On occasions, that stress stretches some forces to such an extent that they risk being unable to keep people safe in some very important areas of policing,” said the leader of the investigation Zoë Billingham, Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary.
“About a quarter of forces are all too often overwhelmed by the demand they face, resulting in worrying backlogs of emergency jobs, with officers not attending incidents promptly, including those involving vulnerable people.”
> Naomi Round