FOR non-emergency crimes the public are advised to call the 101 line — but some members of Holsworthy Town Council have raised concerns over the lengthy call holding times they have experienced while using the service.

Torridge Sector Inspector Phil Gray and Sergeant Sally Ferris, paid councillors a visit on Wednesday, September 4, to discuss matters arising in the area.

They were keen to inform those present of the most effective ways of reporting a crime — whether this is through the conventional emergency 999 call, the 101 non-emergency phone number and email or via Crimestoppers, an independent charity who assist law enforcement officers to locate criminals and help solve crimes.

Mayor Jon Hutchings queried the effectiveness of the 101 service’s alternative contact methods, he said: “I don’t know if you are aware but if you Google ‘101 email address’ it doesn’t come up anywhere online, not that I could see.

“It makes it very difficult for people to contact 101 if they don’t have time to sit around waiting on hold.”

Insp Gray said he hadn’t previously been aware of this ‘Google’ issue but promised to pass the mayor’s feedback on to the relevant team.

It was also suggested and agreed by the council that posters of the 101 service’s contact details should be placed around the town as a way of spreading the message.

Cllr Lyndon Piper said: “The police are always asking us to report it [non-emergency crime] to 101 but I have had people telling me they have been left hanging on for an hour or more.”

Insp Gray explained to the council that a lot of work has taken place over the last year, and is still taking place now, in order to improve the 101 service.

The police have been looking into methods of improving the service such as increasing the amount of staff taking calls, however, Insp Gray said they do recognise that there are improvements that can still be made and work is ongoing to address this.

He added: “If you have been receiving complaints from your constituents re the 101 service, then I would recommend you inform them they should be complaining to the police using the standard complaint procedure.

“Also as a council, if you believe that 101 isn’t an acceptable service, then you should, as a council, also complain or indeed write directly to the Chief and PCC.”

Sgt Ferris was also in attendance at the meeting and offered the council this advice: “I would encourage people to contact Crimestoppers, as an alternative to using the 101 email and call system.

“Reporting to Crimestoppers also allows for individuals to remain anonymous. Any report made to Crimestoppers is fed directly back to the respective police force to investigate or will be entered onto the respective force’s intelligence system — this is another way of making us aware of crimes or intelligence and it gets the information to us which is important.

“Our mantra is ‘click before you call’ — it is far easier.”

Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously 24/7 on 0800 555 111. An online form is also available to report crime at crimestoppers-uk.org

To report a non-emergency crime call 101 or email the new email address [email protected]