A new way for people in the Auckland City and Bay of Plenty police districts to report non-urgent crime is being officially launched today.
Police are running a demonstration to test the processes and systems involved in taking non-emergency calls (where the caller has dialled a police station rather than 111) coming into the Northern Police Communications Centre from the two districts.
The demonstration will provide the information needed to decide if a single non-emergency number for contacting police and reporting non-urgent crime will be introduced nationwide.
Non-emergency number project leader Superintendent Steve Christian, says stations throughout the two districts were progressively joined to the demonstration call centre from last weekend.
"Everyone's now linked up and we're under way. As at 4pm on Wednesday, we had taken 1,458 calls - 380 from the Bay of Plenty district and 948 from Auckland City.
"So far things are progressing satisfactorily as new staff and callers get to grips with new systems and processes."
Mr Christian says Auckland City and Bay of Plenty residents wanting to report non-urgent matters to the centre should continue to call their local police station.
"All the changes are behind the scenes, so the public should continue to do exactly what they do now and give their local station a call if they have a non-emergency incident to report. The operator will then transfer them through to the call centre."
The centre is dealing with complaints about non-urgent crimes where there is little or no likelihood offenders are still in the area. These include burglary, theft, stolen and abandoned vehicles, vandalism and graffiti.
"We're asking people to save 111 for emergencies. If you have any doubt at all about your safety, 111 is the number to call. If it can wait, call your local police station," Mr Christian says.
Based in the lower level of the Northern Communications Centre in Auckland, the call centre has a staff of 42. It's providing a 24/7 service, with some capability to take crime reports in Maori, Samoan, Mandarin, Cantonese and other languages.
Establishing a non-emergency number was one of the recommendations made by the Independent External Panel that reviewed the operations of the Police Communications Centres last year.
The recommendation was one of the measures the panel proposed to improve the 111 emergency system by reducing the volume of non-urgent calls taken in the Police Communications Centres. Currently non-emergency calls represent around 63% of the 1.7 million calls coming into the three centres each year.
Panel chair, Acting Assistant Commissioner Mick Corboy of New South Wales Police, will be at today's launch, along with Police Minister Annette King and Commissioner Howard Broad.
The non-emergency call demonstration will run through into next year, with a thorough evaluation beginning in August 2007.
Once that's completed, a decision will be taken on whether to scale up to a national service. It will go ahead only if the demonstration has proved viable and Police districts are ready for it.
For more information / interviews contact:
Leanne Frisbie, ph 027 223 6743
Note: Media are invited to attend today's launch.
When: 12:30pm for 12:45pm start, Friday 24 November.
Where: Northern Communications Centre, 159 Great North Road.
Who: Police Minister Annette King, Commissioner Howard Broad and Project Manager Superintendent Steve Christian.
Special Guest: Chair of the Independent External Review Panel, Acting Assistant Commissioner Mick Corboy, NSW Police.
What: This is an opportunity to interview the key players and call centre Community Service Advisors. A call taking demonstration will provide visuals / audio.
RSVP: Leanne Frisbie, ph 027 223 6743
Non-Emergency Call Service Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
What's the background to the non-emergency call demonstration?
The Independent External Panel that reviewed the Police Communications Centres last year recommended that consideration be given to establishing a Single Non-Emergency Number. The Panel believed a single national number would take pressure off the 111 system, which currently also handles calls about non-urgent crime and incidents.
The non-emergency call demonstration now running in Auckland and Bay of Plenty has been designed to test systems and processes on a limited scale, so that information can be gathered and decisions made about choosing and introducing a single non-emergency number for the whole country.
People in the two demonstration districts who want to report non-urgent crime and incidents can access the service by calling their local police station. The station will then transfer them to the new centre.
We will not be launching a new single non-emergency number until a decision has been made on whether such a service will go ahead on a national scale.
How does the non-emergency call demonstration work?
People living in the Auckland City and Bay of Plenty police districts who phone their local police station to report a non-emergency crime or incident are being transferred to a new call centre.
Community Service Advisors in the centre take reports about non-emergency incidents over the phone. They'll be able to resolve many of the calls on the spot.
Where Police attendance is required, this will either be dispatched by Police Comms or the call centre will send cases to a local Auckland City or Bay of Plenty area supervisor. The supervisor will then allocate the job to appropriate staff such as Crime Scene Attenders, general duties or road policing branch staff or detectives.
How do people know if it's an emergency or not?
Calls about incidents where life is in danger, physical assaults are taking place, offenders are still present at the scene of the crime or there is a high likelihood they are still in the vicinity, should always be made to 111. If there is any doubt at all in the caller's mind about their safety, then they should phone 111.
The public will continue to decide for themselves if their situation warrants an urgent 111 response or whether it can be dealt with by a phone call to their local police station. Police staff are trained to take appropriate action depending on the circumstances.
What happens if a call turns out to be an emergency?
Staff in the non-emergency centre have been trained to take emergency calls. If they receive a call that turns out to be an emergency, they'll take the information from the caller and send the details through to a 111 dispatcher so police can respond straight away.
What sort of calls are you dealing with?
The centre is dealing with complaints about non-urgent crimes where there is little or no likelihood offenders are still in the area. These include burglary, theft, stolen and abandoned vehicles, vandalism and graffiti.
What number do people call for the demonstration?
All the changes for the demonstration are behind the scenes, so the public should continue to call their local police station to report non-emergency crime and incidents. The operator will then transfer them to the new centre.
How are calls handled?
The Community Service Advisors will take the caller's name, address, phone numbers and email address. They'll record the details of the incident and provide a reference number.
Information about crimes such as burglaries, stolen cars, wilful damage and theft will be recorded in the Police database so we can build up a picture that will help us to detect, solve and prevent more crime.
The Community Service Advisor's role is to give advice and information, take reports, arrange for action to be taken when appropriate or direct the caller to an organisation or person who can help.
What effect will the demonstration have on police services in the districts?
Because the centre is taking crime reports on the phone, there is no need for the public to go into police stations in person to make a report. This makes more time available for police staff to respond to other incidents that require more complex attendance and investigation.
Will the demonstration take *555 calls?
No, *555 calls will still be handled by the Communications Centre.
How much does it cost to call?
Calls are free for callers using landlines to call their local police station. The usual charges will apply for cell phone calls.
Is the service available 24/7?
Yes.
How can non-English speakers access the service?
The Community Service Advisors will arrange a conference call with an interpreter from the Department of Internal Affairs' language service. Some Community Service Advisors are multi and bi-lingual and will be able to take complaints in different languages without the need to involve an interpreter.
How many calls are you expecting during the demonstration?
We're initially expecting around 55,000 calls annually from Auckland City and Bay of Plenty districts.
What happens if people want to talk to their local police officer?
The public will still be able to talk to their local police officer. If officers are asked for by name, the caller will still be connected to that officer's extension.
The demonstration is just providing another way for early, full and detailed crime report information to be entered into our system. The call centre will collect all the information Police need about an event; and will be able to contact the local police officer in many cases more easily than a member of the public can. Local officers will also be handling less paperwork, which means more time available for face-to-face interaction.
Why are Police doing this?
There are two potential benefits. First, we want to improve the 111 emergency system by reducing the volume of non-urgent calls taken in the Police Communications Centres. Non-emergency calls represent around 63% of the nearly 1.7 million calls coming into the Centres every year. Creating a separate channel for those calls was recommended in 2005 by the Independent External Panel set up to review the Communications Centres.
Second, we want to provide the public with a convenient telephone access point to communicate with Police about non-urgent crime and incidents. We expect that direct access to Police via the service will improve public satisfaction.
What's the cost?
In this year's Budget, the Government allocated $3.5 million per year in ongoing funding for the demonstration. The Budget also allocated $850,000 capital spending to cover equipment costs associated with the demonstration.
Why did you pick Auckland City and Bay of Plenty for the demonstration?
We wanted to test call handling and processes for a major metro area generating high call volumes, and a large rural area where police coverage is less concentrated than in the big cities.
Are you expecting extra work / more calls?
This could happen as Police in Auckland City and Bay of Plenty districts refer the public to the demonstration centre and people begin to appreciate the convenience of reporting non-urgent crime and incidents in this way.
How many calls do Police receive each year?
Police Communications Centres receive nearly 1.7 million calls a year. About 63% of those are non-emergency calls.
Will reported crime go up?
There could be an increase in reported crime. That's because the new call centre will record and capture some crime and incidents that may not have been formally recorded before.
What happens next?
The demonstration will run through into next year, with a thorough evaluation beginning in July 2007.
Once that's completed, a decision will be taken on whether to scale up to a national service. It will go ahead only if the demonstration has proved viable and Police districts are ready for it.
When will you choose a new number and what will it be?
We'll choose a number only when a decision has been taken to introduce the service nationwide. Ideally it would be less than the usual seven digits and easy to remember. A national awareness campaign alerting people to the new number would accompany the nationwide implementation of the scheme.
For more information contact:
Debbie Corney, ph 02743 55005
Leanne Frisbie, ph 027 223 6743