GMP brings in dozens of cops to bolster the 999 call handling department over the 'very busy' summer

Greater Manchester Police bosses have plucked 77 cops from all across the force to bolster its 999 call handling department. They have been seconded to the 'Force Contact Centre' to help during the busy summer period.

Among them is PC Elizabeth Kelly, who recalled the dark days in 2020 when GMP was plunged into special measures. Then a civilian call handler, she recalled: "Demand was so high we didn't really get a break between calls."

Since Chief Constable Stephen Watson was installed in June last year, the force has halved the time it takes to answer the most serious 999 calls.

Last month it took an average 29 seconds to answer such calls compared to 66 seconds in June 2021. The improvement follows a £1m investment in call-handling, including 40 new call handlers.

The force was placed in special measures in December 2020 after a damning inspectorate report revealed serious failings, including the failure to record an estimated 80,000 crimes in twelve months. The scandal cost the then chief constable, Ian Hopkins, his job.

Now his successor has confirmed 77 police officers have been seconded into the 'Force Contact Centre' to maintain call-handling performance. Chief Constable Watson hopes the policing inspectorate will lift the force out of special measures thanks to recent improvements, including in call-handling.

The 77 officers have been brought in while the next wave of civilian call-handlers undergo three months of training.

PC Elizabeth Kelly, one of the officers drafted in, had worked as a civilian call handler for two-and-a-half years before becoming a police officer last year.

She recalled pressures she experienced in call-handling in the dark days when GMP was first plunged into special measures in 2020. PC