Dorset Police introduce service to support 101

A voice-activated switchboard (VAS) is being introduced by Dorset Police to reduce demand on the 101 service by giving the public the opportunity to connect directly to, or leave a voicemail message for an officer, department or member of staff.

From Tuesday 3 March 2015, a Voice Activated Switchboard (VAS) will be available to members of the public calling Dorset Police on 101.

The VAS has been created to reduce demand the 101 service by giving the public the opportunity to connect directly to, or leave a voicemail message for an officer, department or member of staff.This reduces the need to go via triage and the Force Command Centre and sit in a possible queue before connecting to a call handler to leave a message


The VAS has been trialled internally for the past twelve months and the feedback from officers and staff has been positive.
Reports to date indicate that the VAS is already producing savings for the force.  We hope this will increase even more now it is available to the public


Superintendent Caroline Naughton, Head of Contact Management said: “The implementation of the VAS reduces the possibility of long waiting times in the Force Command Centre


“When dialling 101, callers will be given the option to verbally express who they would like to speak to. The VAS will recognise the officer or department requested and transfer the caller directly to that person, effectively bypassing the triage and Force Command Centre altogether.

“We anticipate this will reduce demand on the 101 service by approximately 10% and therefore reduce call waiting times in the Force Command Centre”.

Issued by Dorset Police 02 March 2015.


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