“Our ‘heroes in headsets’ work hard every day to help you and deal with your emergency”
That’s from one of our most senior officers who is paying tribute to all those who work in in our control room we mark International Control Room Week.
Chief Superintendent Tim Tubbs said: “To many are just a voice but our Contact Centre and Control Centre is right at the heart of what we do. The Contact Officers are usually the first people you’d speak to, it’s where officers get dispatched from, and where many investigations begin.
“Our Control Officers are expert in helping you when you when you need us most and in handling high pressure incidents and situations, staying calm and professional.
“I want to thank everyone who works in our Contact Centre and Control Centre for the work they do each and every day. Without them our officers wouldn’t be able to respond to emergencies or help the public so quickly.”
Did you know?
The Contact Centre received nearly 30,000 enquiries during September – which was by far the quietest month. July was the busiest, incredibly they received nearly 70,000 enquiries – of which nearly 40,000 were 999 calls!
The Contact Centre Officer who took the most 999 calls in the last year took a whopping 4,078 calls over 12 months!
The average time for the Contact Centre to respond to a 999 call was under 10 seconds – and much faster at most times of day.
The number of you messaging us via LiveChat, rather than ringing us, has nearly doubled in the last year. The busiest month was July with nearly 5,000 LiveChats!
Contact Centre
Chief Supt Tubbs added: “As well as Contact Centre and Control Centre, Contact Management Command includes teams who assess and allocate crimes when they come in.
“We have our Rapid Video Response team to provide the best service we can to victims of domestic abuse
“And we have people who ensures the Police National Computer is updated and accurate and who help in the safeguarding of victims.
“We have analysts who help identify trends and, of course, all of those who work in our front counters.
“Everyone plays a key role in ensuring your emergency is responded to, officers are updated, and we’re doing the best we can to protect and serve our county.”
How can you help Contact Management?
Chief Supt Tubbs continued: “For non-emergencies, please use our digital channels if possible, rather than the 101 non-emergency number as this helps free up time by the Contact Officers to deal with emergencies.
“LiveChat is great because both the caller and our Contact Officers can handle calls while doing multiple other things; and many people are often more confident to text rather than call.
“You can do so much us via our website, like reporting crimes, requesting information, or telling us about suspicious activity.
“If it’s an emergency, always call 999.”
This article originally appeared on essexpolicemedia.co.uk and was republished with permission.