22,000 calls to West Mercia Police go unanswered as demand for 101 line doubles
Unanswered calls to West Mercia Police's non-emergency 101 line have nearly doubled since last year.
About 22,000 calls to the force's 101 number were not answered in the first half of 2018.
This figure has risen from just more than 11,000 between July and December last year.
West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion said work is ongoing to improve the answering of non-emergency calls.
"The service on 101 is below what our communities would expect," he said.
"But I'll continue to support them with the resources to improve this in the short and long term.
"There is also extensive work going on to improve performance around call taking.
"This includes a recruitment drive and the introduction of resolution centres to ensure non emergency matters can be dealt with quickly over the phone."
Victim Support, an independent charity supporting victims of crime, say unanswered calls could lead to a lack of confidence in the police, meaning victims may not phone in the future.
