Now we have even more time for you

Suffolk Constabulary is getting better in how it communicates with the public – and a lot of it is down to a new team and new systems being embraced by those in need of a non-urgent response.

A Digi Desk (Digital Public Contact Engagement Desk to give its formal title) was brought into the Contact & Control Room in March this year to make sure non-emergency online comms is handled better and faster and at a time to suit more people.

The improvements were made possible by a £1.2 million investment from the Police and Crime Commissioner’s council tax precept last year into the Contact and Control Room (CCR) Transformation and Modernisation Programme.

The new focus on social media and website is clearly working; despite a big growth in demand response times are getting quicker. And that’s brought a thumbs up from the public: 91% of users rate the service as either very good (82%) or good (9%).

It’s a big job … in July and August the new team managed more than 2,000 interactions on the website and is also managing an average of 79% of all social media and 85% of email demand that is received by the police in Suffolk.

The Digi Desk is staffed every day between 7am and 10pm to help members of the public who find it easier to get in touch outside more traditional working hours.

The team triages the “Tell Us” reports from the Force’s website, manages emails from partner agencies and monitors comments and direct messages on the Constabulary’s Facebook and X pages.

The team also responds in real time to Live Chat enquiries, available every day between 8am and 9:30pm.

Although social media and Live Chat are not a reporting tool, the introduction of the new digital desk means an improved service to members of the public who wish to engage with Suffolk police through digital means for general enquiries, advice or support for any non-urgent concerns or policing matters.

The number of 999 calls received by the CCR has increased by almost 30% over the past three years, from an average of 8,645 per month in 2019 to an average of 11,141 per month in 2023, and these numbers continue to grow.

To meet the demand of these increases and enhance its performance in responding to the public, the constabulary has been undertaking a long-term transformation within its control room, again benefitting from the PCC’s tax precept investment.

Nearly 90% of 999 calls are answered within the national performance target of 10 seconds (88.3% in October 2024, 89.3% in September 2024). This response rate is up from 73% in October 2022.

Assistant Chief Constable Eamonn Bridger said: “Technology is a vital component in how we communicate with the public but our performance has also benefitted from our highly skilled and trained people because we know how important it is to answer a call as quickly as possible.”

At the heart of all this change is the desire to be more flexible, responsive and efficient.

ACC Bridger said: “We understand that more and more people engage online and that many are more comfortable using digital services than speaking on the phone. We want to improve our accessibility to the public still further by enhancing our digital communication and allow them the flexibility of communicating with us in a way that is easier and more convenient for them.

“We also want to make ourselves more accessible for those who are hard of hearing or speech-impaired and extend our hours of availability on Live Chat - which automatically translates up to 100 languages - to improve our service to those where English is not their first language.

“The DPCED will treat any communication received through digital channels in exactly the same way as our call takers manage a call in the CCR. The aim is to give members of the public swift responses to their non-urgent queries to help reduce our call demand and waiting times. We hope that by providing an improved and more efficient digital service to the public, more people will consider contacting us online rather than picking up the phone for non-emergency matters.”

The Digi Desk digital is part of the long-term transformation the Constabulary has been undertaking within its control room to improve its service to the public. It has been achieved largely by the investment from the council tax precept in the 2022/23 financial year.

ACC Bridger added: “While we are doing everything we can to make our processes more effective, I want to remind people to contact us because they actually need a police response to their issue. If you have an emergency, where a life is in danger or a crime is in progress, you should still call 999.”

Suffolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore said: “Times change and it is important that the Constabulary adapts to meet the changing communication demands of the public.

“How we engage with each other has transformed dramatically over the past decade, with many of us using digital media rather than talking over the phone. The so-called Digital Desk will now allow the public to engage with the Constabulary for non-emergency enquiries in the format that suits them best and I fully support this new service which was funded through this year’s council tax investment.”

To report something, visit: https://www.suffolk.police.uk/ro/report/

For advice regarding crime prevention, anti-social behaviour, animal protection and many other matters, visit: https://www.suffolk.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/

The Live Chat function appears as an icon at the bottom right of select pages on the Suffolk police website, including the home page, and will open as a chat messenger. It can be accessed via a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or a mobile phone.