We spent an afternoon inside Derbyshire's police control room - with 46 phone calls in 15 minutes from dangerous dogs, a cyclist on the M1 and kids dangling over a bridge

Whenever a crime occurs they are typically the first point of contact: whether that be for a 999 or 101 call. The job is complex and unforgiving and we were invited to the force’s headquarters - in Ripley - to spend a few hours in the control room and learn more about just what exactly it entails.

The first thing to note is that, upon entering the control room, you are hit with an immediate hustle and bustle. On the day I visited, call handlers were dealing with a new enquiry roughly every 45 seconds and, for 999 calls, a loud siren rang out across the room.

I was able to listen in to 999 calls as they came in: on the day they ranged from dangerous dogs to kids dangling over a bridge and no less than 46 phone calls in 15 minutes to report a cyclist on the M1.

On the right hand side of the room were those responsible for dispatching resources - including Sgt Mark Bonsor, force incident manager - whilst on the left, featuring Mark Deavin, were those who pick up the phone (though there are no actual phones involved, it’s all operated via a computerised system).

Mark Deavin, performance and demand manager, explained the skills required for the role: “You have to be a really good listener and able to multi-task. It’s important that you can control the call and get people to understand that you are there to help them. It is a difficult job because we are dealing with people when they are, often, experiencing the worst moments of their life and we do get sworn so it’s important to control that call and get the information that we need so that we’re able to help.”

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Once an incident reaches the desk of Sgt Bonsor, or whichever force incident manager is on duty, it then becomes a ‘dispatch’ incident. This, simply put, means resources are assigned to an incident which, more often than not, requires a physical and immediate presence.

“If we can resolve an incident in any other way (than a physical presence) then that is a priority. Obviously there’s a vast majority which we can’t because we have to go and speak to people and get evidence but our first priority is can we deal with that incident without a physical presence - which, in many instances, does mean providing a quicker resolution.”

All calls are graded using a THRIVE system in order to identify risk. THRIVE stands for threat, harm, risk, investigation, vulnerability, and engagement. Sgt Bonsor explained that, simply put, this meant the higher the risk of harm - or risk of escalation - the more immediate a police response would be. This also applied to situations where there was a tightened time frame in which it would be possible to obtain evidence.

About an hour into our visit, an update came in to say that armed officers had been deployed as part of a multi-agency response to an incident involving two dogs that had attacked a third dog within the same household.

Sgt Bonsor discussed how, in order to reach the threshold for an armed response, officers would need to be able to determine if there was a risk to the wider public, a risk of escalation or, in incidents involving distressed animals, if there could be the possibility that lethal force would be required in order to end any suffering.

Derbyshire police has recently taken on trainee call handlers and is recruiting for more to join their HQ in Ripley. The training process takes between two and three months, followed by more ‘on-the-job’ training and provides a platform to advance towards being a uniformed officer.

Mark said: “It’s challenging but rewarding and you do think “you know what that’s great, I’m making a difference”. We are really keen to get people that are passionate about helping others.”

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While visiting the HQ I was able to sit and observe Molly, a call handler, deal with a 999 call reporting children hanging over a bridge on a main road in Derby. I was, perhaps naively, immediately surprised by the sheer amount of work that Molly was doing whilst maintaining a conversation with the caller - inputting notes onto the computer system and pinpointing the location of the incident on a map from pretty scant information that was coming in.

“It really does feel like you’re making a difference to people when they need it the most”, Molly said when I asked her how she was still so happy as it came towards the end of her shift.

The force scrutinises data in order to anticipate demand for the service with a minimum of seven call-handlers on-duty at any one time and up to 28 when demand is expected to be highest.

But Sgt Bonsor said that whilst when he first joined, 23 years ago, ‘you’d be able to build yourself up to the weekend or bank holiday and expect it to be the busiest times’, there was far less predictability nowadays.

He also said that the ‘biggest change’ in those two decades was the increase in the number of people with mobile phones. He said it had ‘massively changed the demands of the police as a whole’ and the immediacy of the demand.

The police are constantly adapting to new ways of reporting and were keen to emphasise the digital options for reporting crime.

Mark explained: “People, wrongly, believe that if they ring up they will get a quicker response because they are speaking to someone. But we would love the public to understand that they will get treated in the exact same manner and way (by reporting online) as if they were to ring up. We have a dedicated ‘digital desk’ response officer each shift whose sole job is to respond to reports on Facebook, Twitter, and our online webforms.”

Earlier this year, I went on patrol with officers in Chesterfield town centre and PC Tammy Careless spoke about how important ‘first impressions’ were with the community - specifically referencing the likes of Wayne Couzens and David Carrick who, understandably, had brought on a fresh wave of heightened scrutiny across police forces.

I asked Sgt Bonsor if he felt, as a result, officers had to work harder now in order to be received positively by the public.

He said: “In the past I think we have been a little bit reticent in blowing our own trumpet but I have never, in my career, seen a place where people come in everyday and put so much into the job on a daily basis.

“Time and time again we are dealing with the worst time of someone’s life and (the call handlers) come back and give their all everyday. It is so important that (when we interact with the public) we make a positive impression: we never want people to have to call the police again but we always want them to feel as though they can and that we can be trusted.”

Even from my short time with the team I had quickly established it was not a job that I would be able to do but I was absolutely fascinated by what I had observed. The job itself is doubtless demanding but I was struck by just how positive and passionate everyone I spoke to was - even those nearing the end of a 12 hour shift.

It truly was an eye-opening experience and gave me a new perspective on the work that goes into ensuring victims of crime receive the most efficient and effective service possible.