Glasgow cop hits out at ‘appalling service levels’

The Contact, Command and Control employee has claimed that the non-emergency 101 helpline is “broken”. 

As a result, the whistleblower – who wished not to be named – has said members of the public are “suffering”.

They said: “The chief hides behind Covid to explain the appalling service levels, but the fact of the matter is that it was on a downward spiral prior to the pandemic.

READ MORE: Glasgow man sexually assaulted a woman who tried to help him

“The increased closure of front counters at police offices puts additional pressure on service centre staff. 

“The bottom line is that central call handling does not work and the public are suffering for it. 

“The issue is structural. The model doesn’t work and in terms of leadership, we have had the same bosses for about five years and they don’t understand what the public need as they are so far removed from front line policing.”

The Govan-based officer is calling on Police Scotland to recruit specially-trained call handlers to deal with inquiries in order to allow cops to “get back on the streets”.

They added: “What needs to happen is, accepting they will not return to local control rooms, is put the cops back out onto the streets and recruit civilian call handlers with expertise of working in a call centre environment and get them to run the service centre and the control room.”

The officer’s concerns come shortly after Scotland’s top cop, Chief Constable Iain Livingstone, admitted callers using 101 to report non-urgent crimes are facing unacceptable delays. 

He revealed to the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) that people are having to wait on-hold for longer periods of time as the increasingly busy force has to prioritise 999 calls.

Speaking to the SPA, he said: “The average length of time that it takes us to answer a 101 non-emergency call has increased recently and I genuinely, truly regret and understand the frustration this has created for the public who are dialling and wishing to speak to the police.

Chief Constable Iain Livingstone

“How we respond to contact from members of the public is absolutely crucial to ensure the public get the help that they need and that they deserve, and that their confidence in their police service is maintained and retained.

“As Chief Constable, I am personally very concerned that people will wait longer to be connected and I reiterate my regret about long waiting times experienced by some of our fellow citizens.”

Addressing the SPA board meeting on Wednesday, Mr Livingstone continued: “I reassure you, colleagues, we continue to prioritise 999 emergency calls and – despite this really significant increase in such emergency contacts – on average, we continue to answer emergency calls within 10 seconds.

“However, people calling the non-emergency 101 number are waiting longer to have their calls answered and this was, on average, five minutes in the month of June.”

Assistant Chief Constable John Hawkins said: “As the Chief Constable underlined, the pandemic has had significant implications for individuals and for all sectors and organisations. Policing is not immune to that.

“Throughout the public health crisis, the committed officers and staff within our Contact Command and Control Division have continued to provide a crucial public service every minute, of every hour, of every day, and I reiterate the Chief Constable’s gratitude and thanks for their work.

“As the public would expect and demand, we continue to prioritise 999 emergency calls and, despite a substantial increase in such contacts, on average we continue to answer emergency calls within 10 seconds.

“Although our latest user experience survey reports that three quarters of people found it easy or very easy to contact police, the average time taken to answer 101 was just over five minutes in June and some people had considerably longer waits when dialling the non-emergency number.

“The Chief Constable has expressed his regret in this respect and we continue to drive improvements in this important area.

“Reform of policing in Scotland has transformed the way we respond to serious crime and major incidents for all of Scotland's communities while returning significant savings to the public purse compared to legacy arrangements.

“Appropriate investment in policing is vital to enable the development of our buildings, fleet and technology to ensure people get the help they need and deserve in a modern, flexible and collaborative way.”