Call Bureau celebrates 1st anniversary with successful stats

[25th October 2006]

It has been one year since Crimestoppers launched its 24/7 Call Bureau and the latest statistics published by the charity prove the Bureau has been an astounding success. Thanks to a dedicated team of call handlers who now work round the clock, the charity has now taken more calls with actionable information.

More calls means more vital information which has lead to an increase in arrests and crime being solved.

In the last 12 months, the Bureau has received calls about the following crimes:

• 6,714 actionable calls relating to Class A drugs
• 4,415 with other drugs
• 479 calls about murder or attempted murder
• 136 calls about rape
• 469 calls about robbery
• 1,038 relating to driving whilst under the Influence of drink and drugs
• 1,006 calls about arson

The first anniversary of the 24/7 call bureau also marks a breakthrough because the team has forged a number of links with organisations like the UK Football Policing Unit, the Horse Racing Regulatory Authority, the Gangmasters Licensing Authority and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Group.

Co-operation like this including more police forces signing up to use the Bureau full-time has meant rapid progress in the continued fight against crime.

On average the bureau receives 2,500 calls per month and not surprisingly the busiest periods are from Saturday and Sunday afternoon up to 2am. They have also experienced an unusual surge in calls at times such as, last Christmas when 31 serious crimes were reported on Christmas day.