Sussex Police named best force in the country for answering 999 calls

In nationally published figures for January 2024, Sussex Police answered 95.7% of calls in under 10 seconds, ranking the force the best in the country.

This follows December, where Sussex Police ranked top once again, with 93.9%.

Forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland aim to answer 90% of 999 calls within 10 seconds.

Sussex Police’s own forecast also projects 96.2% for February but this is subject to BT providing the final data for the month.

Sussex Police have invested new technology within the control room which is helping to distribute calls in a more automated way.

There have also been significant improvements to the Force Control Room in Lewes to make a better working environment for our staff.

These changes have allowed the force to answer 999 calls even quicker than before.

Chief Superintendent Rosie Ross said: “This ranking shows our commitment to helping those in Sussex that need our help.

“Every call is for a reason, and we need to show that we are there for our community. If 999 is called, we know that on the other end of the phone is an emergency, and we have to be ready for that.

“This result is not only thanks to the improvements we have made to our control room, but more importantly our dedicated call handlers. We work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure every call is heard.

“We also reviewed many of our processes ahead of the busy summer months, to ensure they are as efficient and effective as they can be.”

Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne said: “I am absolutely delighted to see Sussex Police are currently the top performing force in England and Wales when answering 999 emergency calls within 10 seconds.

“This dramatic improvement in performance has not happened overnight - it is the result of my constant scrutiny on behalf of the public and considerable investment, which I have enabled through the local police precept, as well as hard work from Sussex Police to replace old technology with new and improved processes.

“Local people contacting the police in an emergency need to know they will receive a swift response and I am very pleased that Sussex residents can now have confidence.

“I am also seeing similar improved performance to the 101 non-emergency waiting times. As Police and Crime Commissioner, I will continue to monitor call-handling times, on behalf of the public, in my monthly Performance & Accountability meetings.”

Sussex Police are hiring 999 and 101 contact handlers. If a job in frontline policing appeals to you, and you think you can make a difference, click here.