Police forces do not routinely respond to 999 calls of “life or death” on time, according to new data.
Only one force in the UK, Avon and Somerset police, meet the standard to answer 90% of all 999 calls in less than 10 seconds.
Forty-three police forces failed to comply during the six months of November 2021 and April 2022.
Overall, 71% of all 999 calls were answered within 10 seconds.
This is the first time that national statistics have been released showing how quickly police forces respond to 999 calls.
Which forces respond more slowly?
The worst performing force was Humberside Police, with only 2% of calls answered in less than 10 seconds.
South Yorkshire Police answered 17% of calls within the target, Durham Police 41%, North Yorkshire Police 44% and Gloucestershire Police 49%.
And the fastest?
As Avon and Somerset lead the way, others approached the target.
Police forces in Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire fell just below the standard by 89%.
Scottish police claim to have an average response time of less than 10 seconds, and recorded 10.1 during the period.
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The Interior Ministry said there were a number of reasons for the disparities: prank calls, delayed connection time and improper use of the 999 to contact police in the event of non-emergencies.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “The public deserves to know that their local police force will be at the end of the phone, ready to take action with a few seconds’ notice to protect them from damage “.
He said “calling 999 can be literally a matter of life and death” and posting the data was about “raising the standards of our amazing emergency services” so that people can have “full confidence in the the ability of the police to save lives and maintain our streets. ” Safe-deposit box”.