Norfolk Chief Constable responds to police inspectorate report on control room

Norfolk’s Chief Constable has responded to the findings of an independent review of the force’s contact and control room by the police inspectorate.

In January, at the request of the Chief Constable, the then Police and Crime Commissioner Giles Orpen-Smellie commissioned His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Service (HMICFRS) to inspect the force’s control room, focusing on how 999 calls are handled and responded to.

The report from HMICFRS has been published today (Friday 24 May 2024) finding that overall, the force provides a high level of service to the public.

In conclusion, the report states control room personnel “displayed high levels of professionalism in their dealings with the public” and that the force performs well in most functions in the control room.

The report identified areas where the force’s response to vulnerability can be improved, something which the constabulary is already addressing through the implementation of the Right Care Right Person initiative, which launches next week.

Responding to the report, Chief Constable Paul Sanford said: “I welcome this report and it is pleasing to see that overall, inspectors found we provide a high level of service to the public, often in demanding circumstances. The inspectorate found calls were answered well; our staff are polite, professional, and acted appropriately in 99.3% of the calls audited for the report.

“We accept the findings around inconsistencies in how information is recorded for calls relating to vulnerable people and that this doesn’t always happen.

“We have already taken steps to address this through our work to implement the Right Care Right Person (RCRP) initiative, which has seen changes to our systems in the control room, which means call handlers will have to record details for such calls in the future.

“As announced earlier this week, we are launching the RCRP initiative Wednesday (29 May). The findings from this report provide further evidence that this is the right thing to do and that the public will receive an improved service, which also goes some way to address issues identified in this report.”

Last year the room dealt with more than 450,000 calls for service including emergency and non-emergency calls, reports via our website, live chat service and emails.

Mr Sanford added: “Control room staff work in a demanding and dynamic environment and this is evidenced in the report in reference to a call handler who maintained contact with a suicidal missing person for thirty minutes; providing reassurance and support and preventing them from taking their own life.

“The demand we deal with is vast and we maintain one of the fastest average answer times in the country for emergency calls, answering 90% of 999 calls in 10 seconds.

“We have already taken action to address the issues identified in this report and I hope this provides a degree of reassurance to the public about our call handling processes.”

The review was commissioned following the deaths of four people at a house in Costessey in January after a 999 call, made an hour before police attended, was not responded to. The constabulary referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct which continues to independently investigate the circumstances of the 999 call and previous contact with the family.