More than 40% of 101 police calls abandoned during June

More than 40% of non-emergency calls to police in June were abandoned by the caller, Scotland's chief constable has admitted.

Iain Livingstone expressed his "personal regret" that more than 71,000 of the 101 calls were ended without being answered.

The force said it took an average of five minutes to answer non-emergency 101 calls in June.

Mr Livingstone admitted he was "very concerned" by the delays.

The chief constable blamed increased demand and staff shortages as a result of the Covid pandemic.

Mr Livingstone said Police Scotland was meeting its target of answering all 999 calls within ten seconds.

Speaking at a Scottish Police Authority meeting, the chief constable explained there were a number of factors contributing to the longer waiting times.

He said: "We are receiving far more calls, some displaced from other agencies we assess, we are spending longer on calls out of necessity and from Covid there are implications which impact our capacity to meet that increased demand.

"I genuinely regret and understand the frustration that this has created for the public."

Between April and June this year, there were 30,000 more 999 calls compared to the same period in 2020, with an average answer time of ten seconds.

But the time taken to answer 101 calls, where people are encouraged to report non-urgent crimes, has slipped to five minutes.

As well as staff illness and self isolation, Covid social distancing measures mean the force's three call centres can only accommodate about 80% of the workforce.

Paul Edie, an SPA board member, said he was concerned at the variance in service which people who call the police get.

He said: "If you get through you get a Rolls Royce service but in June 40% of people didn't get through and they don't even get a skateboard."