Celebrating GMP's 'headset heroes' who deal with more than a million calls a year

We are celebrating the vital work of our Force Contact, Crime and Operations Branch (FCCO), the first point of contact for the public in need of emergency help.   

International Control Room Week (27–31 October) will put the spotlight on the crucial role our call handlers play in keeping our communities safe.    

We are shining a spotlight on our ‘headset heroes’, including call handlers and dispatch agents, and also our response officers in recognition of their commitment and professionalism.   

In the last 12 months, our control room was contacted more than 1.3m times by the public with 586,000 of those 999 calls. 

That means we are contacted 160 times an hour every day – which is 2.5 calls every minute. 

In total over the last year, we received: 

• 999 calls: 586,312 

• 101 calls: 681,455 

• LiveChat: 82,127 

• Total: 1,349,894 

GMP has the fourth highest 999 volume in the UK with 93% answered inside three seconds – in July 2021 the average speed to answer a 999 call was 1 minute 22 seconds when Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson was appointed. 

The national standard is 90% answered in 10 seconds. 

We are attending emergency incidents in an average of 7 minutes 51 seconds, which is faster than the 10 minutes 48 seconds averaged in 2021. 

Priority incidents are attended within an average of 1 hour 9 minutes - down from 21hrs in May 2021. 

Rebecca Greaney, head of our contact management and business transformation, said: “Being there for our community in their moment of need is vital; we’re committed to delivering the right response with care and quality.   

“By responding to calls swiftly and efficiently, we’re able to assess situations quickly and deploy the right resources when urgent action is required.  

“Offering reassurance to someone who may be frightened and experiencing one of the most distressing moments of their life is crucial, and all our staff are highly trained.  

“It helps build trust and allows us to gather the essential information needed to support them effectively.  

“By responding to calls swiftly and efficiently, we’re able to assess situations quickly and deploy the right resources when urgent action is required"

“Despite being one of the busiest departments in one of the busiest forces in the country, we continue to make significant progress in how we serve the public during emergencies.  

“We are also focused on enhancing our service during non-emergency situations. This includes expanding the use of our online tools, such as the LiveChat feature on our website and the Bee in the Loop neighbourhood alert platform.”  

Our control room is staffed 24/7 so there will always be someone on hand to take a call or deal with an online enquiry. 

Our control room links in with other emergency services to better deal with emergencies. 

Rebecca adds: “The public can continue to support us by thinking carefully about the best method of contact when reaching out to the police.  

“There are a number of ways to contact us - in a genuine emergency, always call 999 and our specially trained contact operators will be ready to assist and ensure you receive the appropriate response.  

 “There are other ways to contact us in a non-emergency situation including 101 and via Live Chat and online reporting forms on our website.  

“Unfortunately, we still receive a number of inappropriate and malicious calls to 999 and 101 – these waste our time and take resources away from where they are needed. 

“We have also introduced the Right Care, Right Person initiative, which helps signpost individuals to the most suitable services, such as health or social care, when police involvement may not be necessary.” 

Our LiveChat reporting service can be found on our website.