DERBYSHIRE Police have blamed delays in answering 999 calls on “teething problems” with a new multi-million-pound control centre.
The national target for answering emergency calls within 10 seconds is set at 85 per cent.
The county force had aimed to answer 90 per cent of calls in that time but new figures show that officers fell below target and actually managed 86.1 per cent from the beginning of April to the end of June this year.
This is compared to 93.5 per cent between April 2009 and March 2010.
The phased transfer of staff from regional control rooms to the new £9.5 million control centre at Butterley Hall, Ripley, started in April.
The purpose-built centre is now the base for up to 250 employees and includes technology that senior police officers say is among the best in the country.
It has a bank of 40 wallmounted screens that allow officers to tap into CCTV cameras around the county and view live helicopter footage.
The unit houses all control room staff who answer 999 police calls and staff who take nonemergency inquiries.
The latest performance report to Derbyshire Police Authority shows that emergency calls were answered in an average of 5.2 seconds during the first three months of the financial year, compared to 4.1 seconds last year.
The percentage of non-999 calls answered within 40 seconds stands at 78.1 per cent. This compares to 92.7 per cent the year before.
The report said that “the underlying issues” causing the drop were being addressed.
