Fewer members of the public are calling Cleveland Police with figures showing a substantial drop in both 999 and non-emergency calls being received by the force.
In the year to September the force received a total of 113,266 999 calls, down 8,486 or 6.9% on the previous 12 months.
The number of non-emergency calls to the 101 number also similarly decreased.
This totalled 208,698 calls in the year to September, a fall of 12,466 or 5.6% on the previous 12 months, according to an update shared with the Cleveland Police and Crime Panel.
Non-emergency calls to Cleveland Police have been declining in recent years with alternatives available to contact the force, for example via its website www. cleveland.police.uk or the COPA mobile phone app championed by previous Police and Crime Commissioner Steve Turner.
As at the end of September this had been downloaded 12,409 times.
Since its launch the app has been used on more than 6,000 occasions to report matters to the police or external authorities such as councils concerning anti-social behaviour, drugs and vehicle nuisance.
The force did not directly offer any insight into the call reductions, but has separately described improvements in the performance of its control room.
Figures show almost nine in ten (89.2%) of 999 calls are answered within ten seconds, a slight year-on-year increase.
In terms of 101 calls the marker is calls answered within two minutes.
In the 12 months to September 84.6% of 101 calls were answered within this target, a significant rise on the 67.9% figure from the previous period.
Last month the force said abandoned calls – when someone ends a call before an operator answers it, with call waits likely to be a significant factor – had also reduced.
It said abandoned 101 calls had dropped from one in seven to one in 20 and abandoned 999 calls from one in 200 to one in 300.
Speaking last month, Superintendent Paul Richardson, head of public contact for Cleveland Police, said: “We know that when people call us it means they are in need of our help, so it’s of critical importance that we always strive to answer calls as quickly as possible and we hold ourselves to account for our response to the public.
“Our control room staff understand this completely and as such our improvement in our service is clear within the figures – it’s testament to their dedication and commitment to serving the public of Cleveland.”
The force reiterated that residents should always call 999 in an emergency if a serious offence is in progress or has just been committed; someone is in immediate danger or harm; a property is in danger of being damaged, or if serious disruption to the public is likely from an unfolding incident.
