Christchurch police receive more than 300 calls on average each day

Police phone lines have been running hot in Christchurch over the past three years, with 330,480 calls made to emergency communication centre staff. Photo / Star News

Police phone lines have been running hot in Christchurch over the past three years, with 330,480 calls made to emergency communication centre staff.

An Official Information Act Request revealed on average 302 calls a day were made, including to the police 111 line, to report incidents between 2018 and 2020.

The median response time for priority one incidents - those where an immediate police response is required to reduce risk or harm - was 8min 56sec.

For priority two incidents, where a timely response is required, but there is no immediate threat to life or property, the police median response time was 34min 15sec.

The most calls to the police emergency communication centre were made in 2019: 114,487.

Meanwhile, 108,323 were made in 2018 and 107,670 last year.

Said a police spokesperson: "The data shows the numbers of calls for service has remained reasonably stable over the past three years.

"We have an agile workforce and are ready to re-deploy staff into other roles where there is demand, as well as ensuring we are prepared for likely spikes in demand, for example Friday and Saturday nights and major events.

"We strive to provide the best service possible for Christchurch residents and work hard to ensure we have the right staff in the right places to respond to calls for action and assistance."

Police do not hold information on how many of the calls were responded to in person by police, how many resulted in arrests, or how many led to no charges.

- Star News