NORTH EAST police forces are among the slowest to respond to 999 calls, new figures suggest. 

Forces should strive to answer nine in 10 emergency calls within ten seconds, according to the Government.

But all of the region's forces failed to hit the target between last November and April this year.

And Durham Constabulary, North Yorkshire Police and Northumbria Police were among the worst performers in England and Wales, according to Home Office data.

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Durham and North Yorkshire answered fewer than half of their calls in under 10 seconds, while Northumbria answered 55%.

Cleveland Police fared better at 82%.

On average, the forces serving the North East and North Yorkshire had 999 response time of 23.4 seconds - higher than the national average of 16.1 seconds.

Lindsay Butterfield, assistant chief constable of North Yorkshire Police, said the force recognises that it is not staffed to meet current, elevated levels of demand. 

She said the figures fell “below the standard that our communities deserve" adding that the force is working hard to ensure those in need of help get through quickly. 

Ms Butterfield said recruitment plans and a reserve staff pool would help, adding: “We are investing in a number of measures to make improvements and get calls answered quicker."

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A spokesperson for Durham Constabulary said the force is taking steps to improve its response, including recruiting extra call handlers and the installation of a new telephony system expected to go live early next year.  

He said the force was also working to reduce inappropriate use of 999, adding: "We are confident these measures will further improve performance over the coming year.

“We have also invested additional resources into our response teams to improve the total time between the initial phone call coming in and a police officer reaching the scene to deal with their emergency”.

North East forces had among the highest rate of calls answered after a minute, with Northumbria Police ranking highest in that regard - 16% of callers had to wait longer than that to be answered.

North Yorkshire, at 13%, was second highest in England and Wales.

Scott Young, assistant chief constable at Northumbria, said the force had been "very open about the challenges we are facing."

He added: “This year alone, to May, the number of 999 calls are up almost 40 per cent when compared to the same period last year.

“This comes off the back of an exceptionally busy period from the previous year, with the easing of lockdown restrictions and the severe storms which hit our area contributing to high levels of calls into our control rooms.

“We are absolutely committed to providing the very best service possible to the communities we serve and have already invested in new technology, which will help ensure we continue to direct our resources to where they are most needed."

In contrast, Cleveland Police kept callers waiting longer than a minute in just 1% of cases during that period.

Cath Galloway, force control room superintendent, said she was “pleased that our good performance has been highlighted.”

She added: “Dedicated staff in our Force Control Room work 24/7 and demand continues to increase yet these figures reflect that we respond, within seconds, whenever the public need us.

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“Colleagues are trained to get vital information from callers as quickly and fully as possible and we are proud of their skills.

“We are always looking for ways to adopt further best practice and to continually improve."

She said the public could play a part in helping forces to be as responsive as possible by calling 999 only in an emergency - i.e. when someone is in immediate danger of harm or a crime is in progress. 

The data showed that only one police force in the UK – Avon and Somerset Police - was meeting the target of 90% of 999 calls in under 10 seconds.

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