Police clash over slow 999 responses to spend £2 MILLION on new laptops to allow more staff to work from home

POLICE forces criticized for slow responses to 999 are to spend £2 million on new laptops so more staff can work from home.

Essex And Knows Police officers say they want the “tech innovation” as part of the move to remote work.

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It's part of an effort to save money on desk spaces in offices, which has been going on since the 20th century pandemic.

Knows Police has more than 1,300 employees registered as home workers.

The Essex force said it had “demonstrated that many teams have the ability to work equally effectively from home”.

The new deal has been given to supplier Computacentre UK Limited for £1.94 million and runs until the end of this year.

But the move towards more working from home comes after both forces were convicted for this responses to emergency calls.

In December, a report prepared by the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary said the number of crimes resolved by Kent Police was “unacceptably low”.

It also identified faults in the response to 999 calls, saying: “Failure to answer calls quickly enough could mean a loss of both public confidence and investigative capabilities.”

And in 2022, a report from the inspectorate said emergency calls to Essex Police were taking longer to answer than the national standard.

Both forces said the computers were intended for all employees to use in multiple locations, not just those working from home.