Overview

• Durham Constabulary answers 101 calls in a median of six seconds following a £1.5 million investment in telephony systems and the recruitment of 24 call handlers.
• Wiltshire Police has slashed its average 101 wait time from 53 seconds in April 2023 to five seconds by early 2025 through dynamic staffing and enhanced training.
• Cumbria Constabulary now leads nationally with a three-second average on 101 lines and has introduced online reporting to ease phone line congestion.
• Emergency 999 performance has risen, with Durham answering 91.7% of calls within ten seconds and Wiltshire maintaining at least a 90% rate under ten seconds for six months.
• National league tables reveal disparities in 101 wait times—from three seconds in Cumbria to over two minutes in Bedfordshire—spurring commissioners to back further digital and staffing measures.