New Yorkshire police call centre to handle 0845 enquires

Date: 26/09/2011

A new call centre handling a range of enquiries - including those to a 0845 local rate number - has been established in Yorkshire.

The site is based at West Yorkshire Police's headquarters in Wakefield and is likely to deal with up to 2.5 million calls every year, Harrogate News reports.

As well as dealing with 999 enquiries, it will also process non-emergency calls to the organisation's 0845 number.

Individuals are now dealt with by an operator when they dial this second prefix, rather than being rerouted to the relevant department within the force.

Acting Superintendent Mick Hanks of the Communications Division said this will make the service more efficient.

"We have over 200 trained, multiskilled staff covering the phones and have worked out the peak hours of demand and structured our shifts accordingly for maximum efficiency," he added.

Last month, Avon and Somerset Police swapped its old 0845 number for a new 101 number to be used in non-emergency situations.