West Midlands Police Slower in Emergencies...

West Midlands Police no longer aim to reach emergencies in 10 minutes



West Midlands Police have confirmed that, from next month, they will no longer aim to reach emergency cases within 10 minutes. Instead, they are relaxing their target to 15 minutes for serious, ongoing situations such as shootings, stabbings, or burglaries that are still in progress.

The target times for less serious cases are also being relaxed: ’priority responses’ will be extended from a 30 minute target to an hour, whilst “routine responses” will go from 24 to 48 hours.

West Midlands Police Authority have agreed to introduce the new targets from May 1st and in a brief statement said:

“In setting the milestones for the Force in this year’s annual performance plan, the authority agreed the proposal from the Chief Constable that response targets should be brought in line with those used by other forces across the country.”

At the moment, West Midlands Police responds to almost 75% of incidents within 10 minutes, and anticipate they will respond to 90% within the new 15 minute target.

Assistant Chief Constable Sharon Rowe told Mercia: “West Midlands Police are committed to attending emergency incidents as speedily and, just as importantly, as safely as possible so we can deliver the level of service our communities expect.”

Criticism

Although the 15 minute target is within Home Office recommendations, the neighbouring force in Warwickshire will continue to measure themselves against the 10 minute guideline.

West Midlands Police (WMP) are currently undergoing large cuts to their service, which will see funding reduced by a quarter over the next three years. More than 2,000 staff are being forced to lose their jobs in that time, including 300 of their most senior police officers who have been forced into early retirement.

Unions have criticised WMP for simply trying to hide the effect these cuts are having on the service they offer, by lowering the standards by which they are judged.

Rob Johnston is from UNISON and told Mercia it is a cheap trick to convince people in the West Midlands that they are still as safe as they were before:

“Rather than investing in staff and investing in staff to ensure we have a first class service, they are moving the goalposts so that we can be seen to be hitting the targets.”

Rick Gamble works in the emergency call room of WMP, where he answers calls from the public and dispatches officers to cases. He warns us that the difference between a 10 minute and 15 minute target in cases like rapes, for example, could have a catastrophic effect:

“When you are on that call, 10 minutes seems like an age for me as an operator, let alone the person on the other end of the line. So the thought that I may have to stay on the phone for another five minutes (before an officer is on the scene, dealing with the situation) is disturbing.”