CONCERNS have been raised over the public’s lack of awareness of the police non-emergency number and how it should be used.

The 101 number was introduced some four years ago to reduce pressure on the 999 emergency line and help people make routine calls to their local force more easily.

However with fears rising that the system was not working well and actually deterring people from reporting crime, North Yorkshire’s police and crime commissioner, Julia Mulligan, commissioned an in-depth study into its use, both nationally and in her own county.

And it found that across the country 62 per cent of people knew the police had a non-emergency number, but only 37 per cent knew the number was 101 and fewer than one-in-three – 30 per cent – actually knew the number and understood when it should be used.

The research also revealed the 101 number was frequently confused with a range of other three-digit numbers such as the NHS non-emergency line 111.

In North Yorkshire the research found that, at 45 per cent, awareness of the number was higher than nationally but one in seven people using it abandoned their call, typically having to wait more than a minute to be answered.

Mrs Mulligan said: “Members of the public often tell me about their frustrations with the 101 service. So I was very keen to understand the reasons for their concerns in detail.”

She added: “The fact that awareness of the 101 is so low both in North Yorkshire and nationally has to be a key cause for concern. It means that some crimes and anti-social behaviour won’t be reported and that valuable intelligence will be lost because people genuinely don’t know how to contact the police – other than via 999 or visiting a police station, for example.

“Another major worry is that one in seven people ringing the 101 abandon their call. Locally, that’s around 2,800 calls per month – most likely due to the time it takes for their call to be answered.

“Now that we have clear evidence of the issues, I am keen to do all I can to help the force improve the service they provide. The Government too needs to pay heed as it is currently considering the way forward for the national 101 contract.”

The report A Review of First Contact Customer Experience provided by North Yorkshire Police is available online at northyorkshire-pcc.gov.uk/publications from today, November 20.