POLICE chiefs in North Yorkshire have brought in new technology to help them cope with delays in answering 999 calls.

North Yorkshire Police’s switch from two control rooms to one led to the number of emergency calls answered within a ten-second target dropping from 94 per cent in August 2010 to 77 per cent in the same month this year.

The problems saw a senior officer issue an apology earlier this month, but the force has now awarded a tender for new call-handling measures to software firm Netcall, which is aimed at cutting down on waiting times.

North Yorkshire Police said the deal, which includes introducing an automated operator service, voicemail and an “overflow facility” capable of tackling calls when five or more people are in the queue for attention, will free up control room staff to deal with the “most important” matters, such as 999 calls and reports of crimes and incidents.

“Our top priority is to develop and deliver excellent operational policing and support services, and this starts on the front line with communication,” said Superintendent Glyn Payne, the force’s head of command and control, who told a recent meeting of Richmond Town Council that call-handling standards had fallen amid control room changes but the snags were now being addressed.

“We want to make it easy for victims of crime and witnesses to stay in contact and receive ongoing information. The combined features of these solutions [through the deal with Netcall] will ensure officers are easier to reach and for messages to be responded to within 24 hours by somebody who can deal with the issue, even if the officer is off shift.”

No financial details of the agreement, which also covers three other police forces in Yorkshire, have been made public. An overhaul earlier this year saw the closure of the control room at North Yorkshire Police’s Newby Wiske headquarters and all staff are now based at the Fulford Road station in York, after spending cuts led to £2.8 million having to be cut from the force’s command and control budget.

North Yorkshire Police’s control room staff currently take more than 500,000 calls a year and the force said the new arrangements would also mean an improved service for crime victims and vulnerable people.

The control room currently handle both emergency and non-emergency calls, with the former receiving priority, and are also required to forward on calls for a particular officer or department.

The new system will provide callers with automated options, rather than being held in a queue for an operator, and allow messages to be left on voicemail rather than with control room staff, who will be freed up to concentrate on 999 calls.