Thursday 14 January 2021

West Yorkshire Police is urging callers to please not ring 101 for non urgent matters after experiencing a significant spike in calls today.

The force has asked callers to please consider if their call can wait or can be reported online through the force’s online reporting tools after seeing call 101 call volumes increase by a third so far on Thursday (14/1/21) due to winter weather.

Anyone who needs emergency assistance or who is ringing about an ongoing serious incident should still ring 999.

Residents are also being asked to consider whether they need to attend at police helpdesks during the current snowfall and not to make non-essential journeys in what clearly remain very challenging travelling conditions

Superintendent Chris Bowen of West Yorkshire Police Operational Support, said: “We are experiencing a much higher volume of non-emergency calls to the force than normal with weather related calls significantly increasing demand.

 “Between 11am and 12pm today the force took in excess of three hundred 101 and 999 calls. Normally we would take around 200 in this time period so we are asking residents to please consider if non-emergency or non-urgent calls they may be considering can be postponed.

“We do offer a full range of online reporting options such as 101live chat and our ‘report it’ online reporting tab to report a whole host of offences such as criminal damage, fraud and anti-social behaviour which do not necessarily need to be detailed over the phone with an operator.”

“Similarly, given the heavy snowfall and very poor travelling conditions across West Yorkshire I would encourage residents not to try and travel to attend police help desks if they do not need to.

He added: “We are focusing on prioritizing service for those in immediate need and I must stress that if you do need immediate police attention for an emergency or an ongoing serious crime in progress then please do ring us on 999.

“We are doing the best we can to manage demand and any help the public can give us on what is clearly a challenging day for the emergency services is appreciated.”

The forces Online reporting system can be found on the West Yorkshire Police website at https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/report-it    

Online crime reports can also be made real time with an operator at www.westyorkshire.police.uk/101livechat