Police Inundated with Emergency Calls
West Midlands Police received 1,083 emergency calls in the hours following England's dramatic World Cup exit. The calls flooded the control room between 10pm on July 15 and 3am on July 16, compared to a typical Wednesday night which sees around 500 calls.
Record Number of Arrests
Officers made a record 226 arrests in the 24-hour period, significantly higher than the daily average of 188 arrests during the previous six weeks of the tournament. The force confirmed that all emergency calls were answered within three to four seconds despite the surge.
Strain on Services
Lyndsey Bailey-Smith, strategic business lead for force contact, said: "We have seen a significant increase in calls during the World Cup and especially post England matches. This has put a strain on our service however, our officers and staff have kept an average of only three to four seconds to answer 999 calls which is only a second longer than our daily average of two seconds."
Community Safety Commitment
Bailey-Smith added: "Our control room staff are the public's first port of call when they need help and they're there to answer the phone during some people's worst days and be the calm voice you hear on the end of the phone when you need it most. We will continue our hard work to ensure our call handling performance continues to improve and make the West Midlands a safer place."
Earlier, six arrests were made in Solihull after tempers flared following England's semi-final defeat to Argentina.
