Click or Call: You have the power to save our time

From today, most COVID restrictions have lifted meaning we can all start to enjoy more freedoms than we have been afforded since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

For many, this is something to celebrate.

For us, this means we are likely to see a spike in our demand and increases in calls for our service.

Throughout the pandemic and beyond, we are here for you and we want you to contact us should you ever need to.

But, from today, we are asking you all a very simple question – Do you click or do you call?

Every year we receive almost 100,000 999 calls and for some of these 999 was not the right method of contacting us.

Therefore, we are asking our communities to remember: For urgent crime, call 999. For everything else, start online.

In no way do we want to discourage our communities from reaching out to us if they need our help but it is important to remember you should only ever call 999 in an emergency or if a crime is in progress.

We also have the non-emergency 101 number too, but we receive almost 300,000 calls on this number each year in addition to the 999 calls.

You will be amazed at how much you can now do on our website. You can report non-urgent crime, access a range of services, get up-to-date information on whether we are the right agency to call and keep informed of our latest news and appeals.

By starting your journey with us online, you have the power to reduce the demand we know we will face over the summer and far beyond.

Assistant Chief Constable Deb Smith said: “Our message is so simple – the power to help us lies within every member of our community.

“If you are able to report an incident or access the information you need on our website, you will be playing your part in reducing the thousands of calls we get into our call centre each year.

“Throughout the COVID pandemic, all police forces saw a reduction in crime as lockdown simply meant most people were living and working at home but we are now all expecting calls for our services to rapidly rise.

“We will always be here for you when you need us the most. All we are encouraging you to do is to ask yourself – can I access what I need online or do I need to call?”

Throughout the summer, we will be sharing stories, showcasing what services are now available on our website & throwing open our doors to give you an insight into how we deal with the demand we face.

We would encourage everyone to follow us on our social media channels and get involved with our campaign.

Click or Call? Save our time. It’s your call.