CALLINGTON Town Councillors have complained about long waits on the police crime reporting number 101 and are to write to the Police Crime Commissioner calling for his abolishment.

At a meeting of the full council last week, a number of councillors said that they had to wait for a long time on hold on the 101 number, or had been approached by members of the public complaining of the same issue.

Mayor and Portreeve Cllr Andrew Long said he had seen a broken down vehicle in a dangerous location and called the 101 number.

He said: 'It took me 19 minutes to get through on the priority line. It is totally unacceptable.'

Cornwall Councillor for Kelly Bray and Harrowbarrow Jim Flashman, who was at the meeting, said: 'I have had several complaints about the 101 system, with people ringing in and left on hold for long periods of time. Someone said they were on hold for 20 minutes. It's ridiculous. We're paying money to the police, whether its for the 101 service or officers, but we can't get police anywhere. We've seen one police car in about two months.'

Cllr Jeremy Gist said: 'One of our fellow councillors called me last week about an incident in New Road and asked if she should call the 101 number — I said no, call 999 if you want immediate action.'

Cllr Gist said that the system regarding allocation of police officers and area cover is based on crime statistics so it was 'imperative' that people reported crimes, no matter how small.

He said: 'But if people have to sit in a phone queue for a long period of time, they will lose the will to live and hang up and then the crime doesn't get reported. This means statistics will show crime going down.'

Prior to the meeting, Cllr Long said, after his long wait on the 101 line: 'I wish this had been an isolated problem but speaking to many local people in Cornwall, they are still reporting similar or worse delays across the Duchy.

'The role of the crime commissioner was forced upon us and since its inception the quality of service from Middlemoor has dropped significantly. Clearly the service has failed and now is the time to end the pain and get rid of this unpopular, unaccountable and expensive folly.'

At the meeting, he proposed the council write to Devon and Cornwall Police and the crime commissioner to complain about the lack of improvement to the 101 system, saying that there had not been a reform of the system that was promised and to call for the abolishment of the crime commissioner role, to be replaced with a board of elected representatives from across Devon and Cornwall.

The council will suggest using the money from the crime commissioner's role to make the reforms.

Cllr Long said: 'This is not an attack on the police, they are doing an incredible job, but they are doing it with both hands tied behind their backs. They need to be given the chance to do their jobs and I don't think the commissioner is helping them to do that.'

In response to the issues raised, police and crime commissioner Tony Hogg told the Times: 'For many years now I have been saying that the police force 101 service is not as effective as it should be, particularly in regard to waiting times.

'That is what the public have been telling me and it is my own experience too. I have also made it clear that this is not a criticism of the people working in that department.

'The role of the police and crime commissioner is to listen to public views and therefore I made it a priority in my Police and Crime Plan to conduct a detailed review of the 101 service. That review is complete and the results and actions from it will be published later this month.

'The police are already boosting staff numbers in that department and other measures will be introduced to drastically improve the service. I will then continue to monitor progress and assess the public satisfaction levels with it.

'I hope readers will see that the commissioner role has worked well in regard to listening to public concerns and taking effective action.'

A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said, with regards to the 101 system: 'We are aware that some waiting times for 101 calls have increased during the summer months when we are experiencing peak demand.

'We are actively engaged in reviewing the 101 system in order that we can further improve the service to the public who need to call police for assistance.

'However, as it stands, 95 percent of the public who use the 101 service have said that they are happy with the service they received.