A new scheme has been introduced to help improve response times for callers using Staffordshire Police's non-emergency number.

The time taken to deal with 101 calls has been a long-running issue in Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent.

And the force has now brought in a triage system to determine how calls to the 101 service should be best dealt with. It is one of a series of measures aimed at reducing waiting times for callers, alongside recruiting and training more call handlers and reviewing staffing levels.

Emily McCormick, Chief Superintendent for Force Contact and Operations, told Tuesday's police performance meeting: "Triage is a simple process – it's about putting in a layer before the public get through to 101. Their experience is exactly the same, they will dial 101 but we've front-loaded our call handlers to be able to pick up calls quickly.

"The whole idea of it is being able to have a very quick time dealing with the caller to then make a decision as to whether it's something that could be reported online, whether it's not a policing matter, whether it's something that still needs to be routed through the 101 line or whether it's a wrongly-routed 999 call. That's an emergency priority that gets pushed through.

"There's only a small percentage that are wrongly-routed 999s but they're dealt with effectively. We're able to increase the number of incidents that are handled via digital means and we also offer a callback service.

"But what we're critically seeing is a reduction in 101 demand by about 50%. That's then overall improved our 101 handling times.

"It gets a member of the public to speak to an officer or staff member really quickly. What we have done in the initial phases of triage is invested officers to sit in those roles because we've found they are able to respond to the public and give them that effective advice and reduce demand."

Staffordshire's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Ben Adams said: "You will be aware that this is the number one thing we get back from the public and it risks a loss of confidence, not just in the experience they have, but in then questioning is all crime being reported. And that is quite a serious matter

"I'm going to continue to keep bringing this back until it's up there with the best because it really matters to the public. It needs to be if we're to get back to being one of the best police services in the country.

"If we can't answer the phone we can't be there and it's a fundamental part of that response loop. If we're catching 101 callers that really should be 999 within a couple of minutes that's a big bonus.

"My concern at the moment is while the triage is dealing with a lot of people, those that still need to be in the queue are not necessarily getting an answer as quickly as they need still, particularly on 101. There's people on 101 that should be using 999 and people on 999 that should not be on either the lines quite frankly, but you can't determine that unless you're getting into the communication quickly."

At the latest Police, Fire and Crime Panel Councillor Ann Edgeller, who represents an area of Stafford, highlighted issues she had recently encountered trying to report antisocial behaviour at night using the 101 service. She said: "I have sat on this committee since it started and this 101 is an absolute nightmare.

"Please Commissioner, can we have at least some improvement in the next few months? I sat there the other night at 12.40 dialling 101 and 20 minutes later I'm still sat there.

"At that time of the morning it's ridiculous. And the public are crying out for this to be improved."

Stoke on Trent City Council member Jackie Barnes said: "I am very pleased to hear it is improving in the 101 and 999 calls. But I have been involved in two calls, one to 999 and one to 101.

"The 101 call was because a young girl was being groomed – she didn't realise she was being groomed on the internet. The parents are quite hot on checking what's going on and they've got some parental blocks on it, but they still managed to get through.

"This mother rang 101 and the words were 'yes we'll come out, keep all the evidence.' She took a day off work, they never said when they were coming so maybe she was hasty in taking a day off, but up to Friday they still hadn't come out to speak either to the young lady or the parents.

"I know they've got to prioritise and I know the person grooming isn't there at that time. But if you put yourself in the position of the parents who are absolutely beside themselves, with graphic things coming through and she has just started high school which is a difficult time, if they haven't come out we're talking over a week ago.

"Can they explain when they are going to come out? Because it's not fair if a parent has taken the day off, feeling devastated, not knowing which way to turn."

Mr Adams responded: "Not to have the visit is for me about good communication. In my experience, if somebody says to me 'Ben, we want to know about that, we can't get there yet but we can get there Friday morning' I can make a plan and I'm not upset.

"If you just don't know what's going on then it's very confusing. This is something that comes back to us from victims and witnesses as well, especially now court cases are going on sometimes two years into the future.

"That needs to improve and it's about finding the capacity time-wise for the service to do it. It's also about owning those relationships a little better."