GMP urge public to report online following increased demand on call takers

Officers are urging the public to think before dialing 999 for non-emergency matters and report them online following another weekend increase of calls.

Greater Manchester Police has seen a large increase in operational demand across the region. The combination of lockdown easing, half term holidays resulting in reduced numbers of people away on holiday and the sunny weather have arguably resulted in a rise in calls.

The number is even greater than last weekend and is a significant increase of 32 per cent compared to normal call patterns, in particular those seen only in March this year.

A total of 7,024 999 calls were received last Friday, Saturday and Sunday and based on the numbers of calls from yesterday (Friday 4 June 2021 - 2,185 999 calls) it is highly likely the pattern will be matched today and Sunday, seeing in excess of 7,000 calls.

At certain times, up to 60 per cent of 999 calls are not an emergency - causing significant delays in Greater Manchester Police responding to emergency calls effectively.

The public can report a crime or information online by visiting www.gmp.police.uk and clicking 'Report' or by speaking to a call taker using the LiveChat service on the bottom right of the homepage screen 24 hours a day.

Crime reference numbers and other queries can also be dealt with online and will help to ensure those in an emergency can speak to our call takers faster.

Assistant Chief Constable Nick Bailey said: "Our call centre is a vital service and all of our call takers work extremely hard to answer thousands of calls every single day.

"The easing of restrictions and the sunny weather will inevitably lead to more calls but there are still a large number of calls that could be resolved quicker by using our online services.

"We're also urging the public to consider whether their query or non-urgent matter can wait until after the weekend if appropriate as the number of calls are expected to continue throughout the weekend.

"The message is clear - if it's not 999, report it online. Our online reporting services are a convenient and effective way of making reports and can be easily accessed by visiting www.gmp.police.uk."