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First contact

Leicestershire Constabulary works to a Graded Response policy that categorises any call for service and provides guidelines to influence and assist the call handler.

A contact is defined as emergency or non-emergency as a result of the information available to the operators and not by the means of access to the operator (i.e. 999 / non 999 etc.).

It aims to ensure that operational officers are deployed in an efficient and effective way with the most urgent incidents taking priority.

Emergency Contact (Grade 1)

We aim to respond to 90% of Grade 1 calls within 15 minutes

An emergency contact will result in an immediate police response. For emergency contact to apply the criteria below must be met OR the circumstances will be such that a police contact handler has strong and objective reason for believing that the incident should be classified as an emergency

An emergency contact includes circumstances where an incident is reported to the police which is taking place and in which there is, or is likely to be, a risk of:

  • Danger to life,
  • Use, or immediate threat of use, of violence,
  • Serious injury to a person and / or
  • Serious damage to property.

Where contact relates to an allegation of criminal conduct it will be dealt with as an emergency if:

  • The crime is, or is likely to be serious and in progress,
  • An offender has been disturbed at the scene,
  • An offender has been detained and poses, or is likely to pose, a risk to other people.

Where the contact relates to a traffic collision it will be dealt with as an emergency if:

  • It involves or is likely to involve serious personal injury,
  • The road is blocked or there is a dangerous or excessive build up of traffic,

Non-emergency contact

A contact will be classified as a non-emergency if the above criteria are not met.

The consequences of classifying a contact as non-emergency mean only that the police response may not be immediate and may encompass a range of solutions, some of which may not involve the attendance of a police officer.

A non-emergency contact attracts three levels of initial response:

  • Priority (Grade 2)
  • Scheduled (Grade 3)
  • Resolution without deployment (Grade 4)

Priority response (Grade 2)

We aim to respond to 80% of Grade 2 calls within 60 minutes

A priority response is one in which the police contact handler acknowledges that there is a degree of importance or urgency associated with the initial police action but an emergency response is not required. These typically arise in the circumstances where:

  • There is genuine concern for somebody’s safety,
  • An offender has been detained but poses no risk to others,
  • A witness or other evidence is likely to be lost,
  • At a road collision, there are injuries or a serious obstruction,
  • A person involved is suffering extreme distress or is otherwise deemed to be extremely vulnerable,
  • Force policy dictates a priority response (e.g. distraction burglary),
  • Hate Crime.

Scheduled response (Grade 3)

A scheduled response should be used where it is accepted that the needs of the caller can be met through scheduling because: 

  • The response time is not critical in apprehending offenders,
  • The matter is service oriented and a better quality of initial police action can be given if it is dealt with by:
    • A pre-arranged police response by a Police Officer or other appropriate resource,
    • Attendance at a police station or surgery where available.

Resolution without deployment

Resolution without deployment is appropriate where the needs of the caller can be adequately met through telephone advice or Service Delivery Desk intervention, through access to the Force and National Frequently Asked Questions databases, the involvement of another more appropriate agency or service or through some other method. 

Initial Actions

  • Where a crime has been reported, the call handlers will ensure that the caller is made aware of what actions the police will take and how long it will take them to arrive (if appropriate),
  • The Officer attending the scene will explain to the victim/s the procedures to be followed for their crime,
  • We will ascertain your preferred method of contact.

In addition to the standards described above, there are certain actions that can be expected in line with particular types of crime.

Burglary Dwelling (burglary of any premise that is or could be used to live in or is integral to this) – Specific Actions

  • The attending Officer will provide and discuss the contents of the Burglary Pack with the victim,
  • The attending Officer will complete the Home Security checklist at the scene,
  • When Scenes Of Crime Officers attend they will give basic crime prevention advice to the victim.

Racist Incidents – Specific Actions

  • Prior to the completion of a racist incident enquiry, a supervisory officer (ideally independent of the investigation) will either visit, or contact the complainant, to discuss the action/s taken.

Repeat victimisation

Leicestershire Constabulary’s definition of repeat victimisation states:

Repeat victimisation occurs when the same person or place suffers from more than one incident within Leicestershire over the preceding 12 months

  • An Area Victim Liaison Officer will identify repeat/vulnerable victims and once identified will ensure that they are provided with additional assistance, support and advice.