Merseyside's Police 101 call response times are “some of the lowest in the country”, the police and crime commissioner (PCC) said.
Merseyside's PCC, Emily Spurrell, made the comment at a meeting with the Police and Crime panel, which covered plans for fighting crime, proactive policing, and preventing offending across the region. A report published by the PCC today revealed that Merseyside Police continue to answer more than one million calls for service each year.
Analysis of local data shows that the demand for 999 calls continues to increase, with non-emergency calls to 101 exhibiting a downward trend. On average 80% of all calls to 101 are answered within 60 seconds, and Ms Spurrell noted that the police are working “really hard” to monitor and prioritise both emergency and non-emergency response times.
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She said: “Merseyside police have done a lot of work around this, and they’ve tried really hard, and I think we will start to see that. The response times from 101, for example, from what I can gather, are some of the lowest in the country.”
The PCC was also questioned about the backlog of cases waiting to be heard at both the Crown and Magistrates’ courts and asserted that the picture in Merseyside is more promising than in other areas of the country. She said: “I’m reassured that within Merseyside and Cheshire we are ahead of the game compared to the national average and, with the Crown Court, we’re almost where we were (pre-pandemic)”.
Ms Spurrell did acknowledge that, in regard to the backlog in the Magistrates Court, Merseyside are “not quite there yet”, adding: “I think the honest answer is it’s going to take a long time to get where we want to be."
The PCC also discussed some of the work she has personally been lobbying for since she was elected last May. Ms Spurrell, a former Labour Councillor in Liverpool, comfortably defeated Lib Dem Kris Brown and Conservative Bob Teesdale to secure the role with 178,875 votes.
As PCC, she is responsible for delivering an effective and efficient police force and holding chief constables and the force to account. Ms Spurrell has been pushing for more protection for retail workers, whom she says have been experiencing high levels of violence and abuse on the “frontline” in the pandemic.
She said: “I was one of many people calling for a change in legislation to give them additional protection and I’m really pleased to say that we’ve now successfully had a commitment from the government to deliver that.”
The PCC also discussed her ambitions to implement greater support for vulnerable women entering the criminal justice system, as well as endeavouring to work for additional funding for refugees in the region.
