Control room staff thanked after one call received per minute over festive period

Police staff and officers have been thanked for their hard work over the festive period, with more than 14,000 calls being received between December 23 and January 1 – the equivalent of one every minute.

Of those 14,000 calls over the 10-day period, there were a total of 6,289 emergency calls, as well as 7,773 non-emergency calls.

There were also almost 700 reports received via online reporting forms available on the South Wales Police website.

Chief Inspector Dean Thomas, Public Service Centre manager, paid tribute to staff for their efforts. He said:

“Policing is a 24/7 operation, 365 days a year, and our teams’ dedication to their roles – including over the Christmas period – cannot be questioned.

“Whether it’s staff in our control room, frontline officers, or any other policing role, we know people may need our assistance at any time, and so it’s important for them to know that we are there for them.”

The total number of calls was up more than a third from the approximately 10,000 received in the same period last year.

But there are also a variety of other means people can get in touch with us as an alternative to phoning, for when it’s not an emergency. They include the online reporting forms via the force’s website, as well as a new Live Chat function which allows people to speak in real time to a member of staff in our control room, again via the website. Anyone wanting to take advantage of this should look out for the blue icon in the bottom-right of the relevant website pages, and then follow the instructions on the screen.

Chief Inspector Thomas added:

“We will always have to prioritise the most urgent calls for service that we receive, but you can also help us to help you, by only dialling 999 when it’s an emergency.

“If it’s not an emergency, we operate a number of online contact options, which are treated in exactly the same way as if you had dialled 101.

“We do also receive calls about issues which are not matters for the police – for instance, your council would usually be the best first port of call for a number of incidents such as noise nuisances and fly tipping.”