More triple zero calls are going unanswered on the first try by ACT police as the volume of emergency calls increases, officers say.
A top police officer has told an ACT budget estimates hearing that the number of triple zero calls answered on the first presentation has dropped by almost 10 per cent compared to the previous financial year, while the volume of calls increased by almost 30 per cent.
Only 83.8 per cent of triple zero calls were answered on the first presentation in the 2025-26 financial year, with 92.8 per cent of calls answered on the second presentation.
The statistics mark a significant drop in performance from the 2024-25 financial year, when 91.4 per cent of calls were picked up on the first presentation and 97.2 per cent on the second. In the 2023-24 financial year, 92.9 per cent of triple zero calls were answered on the first presentation, and 98.2 per cent on the second.
Canberra Liberals deputy leader Deborah Morris said community members had complained they were waiting longer to get on to police after dialing triple zero.
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"That is a pretty extraordinary decline in the number of first presentation calls that were answered," she said.
An ACT Policing executive manager said the force has experienced a 28.7 per cent increase in triple zero calls in 2025-26, totaling an additional 12,500 calls.
Deputy Commissioner Scott Lee said the drop in answered calls was something ACT Policing was "absolutely focused on".
"It has been the subject of a number of reviews, given our inability to meet the KPIs for triple zero, which will be an issue for us at the end of this financial year," the chief police officer said.
"It is something that has been the subject of review within our communications centre, particularly in terms of whether it's a technology issue or a resourcing issue."
Police Minister Marisa Patterson said the data collected on emergency calls would be used to understand the changing situation and allocate resources appropriately.
"We've had similar discussions of the 131 444 number and there was substantial resources allocated to that phone line at the beginning of this year," she said.
The Canberra Times previously reported that the number of triple zero calls to police increased by more than 10,000 calls, or by 26 per cent, between 2024 and 2025, from 39,720 to 50,304.
More than 17,000 triple zero calls made to ACT Policing in 2025 were not classified as emergencies.
Crime rates have been trending downwards in the ACT, according to analysis from this masthead.
