Burton and Uttoxeter’s Member of Parliament, Kate Griffiths, has today (Friday 13th May) visited Staffordshire Police Headquarters in Stafford to meet with Chief Superintendent Elliott Sharrard-Williams and to tour the Control Room with Head of Contact, Lisa Cope, and Deputy Head of Contact, Steve Clews.
The Control Room is where the Police handle incoming 999 calls and where immediate decisions on any emerging incidents are taken. Staffordshire Police is making significant investment in improving the service it provides to the public when they call for help.
The local MP heard first-hand from call handling staff about how they prioritise calls and assess threat, harm and risk as well as manage their contact channels including the 101 Digital services.
Ms Griffiths’ visit continued with a meeting with Chief Superintendent Sharrard-Williams where they discussed a range of local matters including knife crime and how to support a multi-agency approach to tackling this issue and the causes of knife crime.
Commenting, Kate Griffiths MP said:
“I am really grateful to Staffordshire Police for their invite to visit their Headquarters and the Control Room.
“Working in the Control Room isn’t for the faint hearted and I pay credit to those officers who work in what is often a high-pressured environment to support callers at what might very well be the most traumatic moments of their lives.
“I was also pleased to meet with Chief Superintendent Sharrard-Williams, and to have a discussion with them about knife crime in Burton along with the efforts I have been making to work towards a multi-agency solution.
“I also raised the stabbing incident in the town last week to seek what more support Staffordshire Police could give to combat this horrific crime.”
