Thurso concerns over police non-emergency response times

Concerns have emerged in Thurso over slow response times when calls are made to the police non-emergency number 101.

Louise Smith, secretary of the town's community council, said she had been told about phones "just ringing and ringing and ringing" without being picked up.

She has been asking members of the public if there are any issues they would like to see being raised at monthly community council meetings.

“Something that has come up is the response time when people dial 101," Ms Smith told the latest meeting, held via Zoom on Tuesday night.

“People are directed to phone 101 rather than 999, which should just be emergencies – we all get that. But with 101 people have described it as just ringing and ringing and ringing, and then what do you do?

“I can back this up with something from my own experience because I saw a guy collapse in the street and I was passing in the car before I realised. I was on Princes Street, so I couldn't pull in anywhere.

“I phoned 101 and got no response. So I just dialled 999 because I couldn't tell what was wrong with the guy. As it turned out it was drink related or drug related – it wasn't that he had collapsed with a heart attack.

“But I thought to myself, if this is somebody who has taken ill, it had better be 999 then.

“When people have said to me that it takes a long time for 101 to answer, I'm thinking: yes, I think it does.”

Ms Smith said she would be keen to find out about response times when a police liaison officer next attends a meeting of the community council.

“I get why we have to ring that, but sometimes it is borderline whether people should just be ringing 999," she said. "If you're 10 minutes hanging on the phone waiting for someone to answer, that response time is not quick enough even though it's not life-threatening.”

Chairman Ron Gunn said: “I've had similar feedback that you don't get a very quick response from the 101.”

He said he would seek a breakdown of figures from Police Scotland.

Community council treasurer Elspeth Husband pointed out: “When you call 101 there is a message that says if you're calling about an emergency then hang up and dial 999. Even if it's somebody collapsing in the street from drink, I think you call 999.”

Mr Gunn added: “We will try and get more information on the 101 because I have heard from quite a few sources that they are slow in responding.

"And of course it is probably answered in Dundee and then re-routed back to us, when they eventually find us on the map.”

Superintendent Dave Ross, of Police Scotland's Contact, Command and Control Division, said: “Police Scotland receives around 2,500,000 non-emergency [101] calls each year and the average speed of answer in May 2021 was three minutes and seven seconds.

“When calling 101, callers are advised to end the call and dial 999 if the incident they are reporting appears to them to be an emergency or is escalating.

“Each and every 999 call is treated as a priority and, in instances when the caller hangs up prior to speaking to our staff, we will always call back in order to ensure that the caller is safe and well.

“An online form is also available for people to submit non-emergency enquiries via our website and these are submitted directly to our service centre.

"The past year has been exceptional for everyone as we manage the impact of this global pandemic.

"We are committed to keeping our staff safe and operating to government guidelines on physical distancing. We have done this effectively and ensured that our staff continue to be available, in a safe environment, to answer calls from members of the public."

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