Croydon police accused of "cheating system" to post fast response times
EXCLUSIVE
by Aline Nassif
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LIGHTNING FAST: Croydon cops have the fastest response times to 999 calls in London
aline.nassif@essnmedia.co.uk
Croydon police officers have been accused of "cheating the system" so the force can boast astonishing response times to emergency calls.
Earlier this month Borough Commander Adrian Roberts told residents at a public meeting at Shirley Methodist Church that his officers were the fastest across London at reaching 999 callers.
Chief Superintendent Roberts proclaimed a borough-wide average of eight minutes, at the Shirley Methodist Church event to discuss crime in the area.
This is an impressive four minutes faster than the Metropolitan Police's 12-minute target – and ahead of every other borough in London.
But this week a highly placed source within Croydon's police force has claimed these figures are not as they seem.
There is no suggestion the borough commander was aware of what was happening and a police spokesman has promised any officers found to be breaking the rules would be dealt with "robustly".
Explaining what has been taking place our source said: "Officers are all equipped with computers in their cars called MDTs (mobile data terminals).
"When you get an emergency call, a transcript of the call, the caller's name and their address shows up on the screen.
"From the time you get the call, you have to aim to reach the address within 12 minutes.
"To meet that target, officers press the button on the MDT to indicate they have reached the emergency call within that time – even if they are several minutes away from dealing with it.
"They could be sitting in a car waiting for back up, or driving up and down the street to locate the actual incident.
"In some cases they are up to 15 or 20 minutes away from actually dealing with the emergency call.
"But the attitude towards it is keep the bosses happy and have a quiet life. It happens on a regular basis in Croydon."
The eight-minute average is particularly remarkable given that six months ago Croydon was rated the Met's worst performing borough out of all the Met police forces for "MDT compliance" (logging calls on the device).
Since that time, our source explained, local cops have been under pressure to turn the statistics around.
The source added: "It is not that anyone is doing the job differently.
"People enter this profession to do policing, and not to feel constantly pressured to press buttons and fill forms to prove they are doing their job properly.
"It is not our borough commander's fault – the pressure is coming from way above him."
A Croydon police spokesman insisted top cops in the borough had no knowledge of the practice.
He also explained the purpose of the machines was not only to monitor times, but also to keep track of where officers were at all times in order to ensure their safety and to deploy them more effectively.
Supt Dave Stringer, from Croydon police, added: "Our average response times have improved throughout the year and we are confident that the public are receiving a good service from us in this respect.
"If it comes to our attention that officers are recording their arrival times incorrectly, then we will robustly deal with these individuals."
46 Comments
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by Anon, Anon
Thursday, March 04 2010, 1:27PM
“Anne is the only person living in LA LA land thank god as who would want to live like her, they are coming to take you away haa haa..nutty as a fruit cake that one”
by ANNE, SELSDON
Thursday, March 04 2010, 11:43AM
“Flights to LA LA land are incredibly expensive and they only do Business Class, I am afraid.”
by lenny, croydon
Thursday, March 04 2010, 9:48AM
“RobinHood, Sherwood
well said if i do say so my self anne has a comment for everything she has seen everything been everywhear and spoken to every cooper on the beat but her area is so rosey .
i think she lives in la la land maybe if we all move to la la land our lives will be perfict like annes to......”
by ANNE, BELGRANO
Tuesday, March 02 2010, 9:19AM
“The anger against senior officers is merely envy from people who are incapable of success. I can remember our previous Borough Commander sitting in a meeting which ended at 9.30 p.m., having to stay and talk to people afterwards, and yet managing to send e-mails at 7 a.m. the next day. Now that is hard work. Most of our Senior Officers work really long hours - so no need to be jealous. Carr on with your 8 hour a day jobs and then you can go home and watch bilge on TV.”
by ANNE, SELSDON
Tuesday, March 02 2010, 9:15AM
“When a crime is being committed, I call police, whichever part of Croydon I am in. It is not that often. Most people walk away and ignore. I am sure the Advertiser story is real. I meant that there are people posting on here who are pretending to be police officers and they are inventing stories. Officers are not allowed to use pseudonyms to post comments on newspaper websites, so these are just negative people stirring up trouble. Dave Stringer is not a bully. He is merely getting officers to do their jobs properly, which he has to do. Or is it that officers want a nice little Mummikins to ask them politely if they would mind performing certain tasks? And then perhaps expect a nice hug and a bar of chocolate as a prize afterwards. I have met officers who are real men - most in their 40s. Some of the younger ones are not men - they are boys, who want looking after.”