Police force's average 101 call wait times halved

The average time it takes for non-emergency calls to South Yorkshire Police to be answered has halved in the past two years, the force has said.

Last month callers waited one minute and 27 seconds on average, a 56% reduction from April 2023.

Ch Supt Cherie Buttle said the force "strives to provide the highest standard of service" to callers.

She added: "We know there is always more we can do and we're not complacent. There are still periods of high demand where callers could be waiting up to an hour."

The control room receives around 900 non-emergency calls each day, putting it in the top third of the busiest forces in England.

Three quarters of those are answered within the target time of three minutes.

Ch Supt Buttle said people should report incidents online if possible, particularly between the busiest times of 10:00 BST and 18:00.

"This allows us to keep our call handlers free to deal with emergencies," she said.

"The information you provide to us will be dealt with in exactly the same way as if you were to call us - and you won't have to wait."

The force also offers a call back service, which enables people to be contacted when an operator becomes available.

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