From stray cats getting into people's beds to the most harrowing of crimes, Thames Valley Police call handlers work around the clock as the front-line response to community concerns and developing crime.

Together they took 404,654  999 calls from April 2023 to March 2024 - on top of 471,512 101 calls.

However, not all incidents require police attendance, with only 18 per cent of calls being escalated to needing a police presence last year (160,127).  

Ollie Pape, 22, has been a call handler at Abingdon police station for just over two months. He said: "You never know what you are going to get when you answer the phone. It is quite heavy work."

On this newspaper's visit to the call centre in April, 97.6 per cent of calls were answered in 10 seconds.

Each call is given a priority rating from one to five to assess its urgency.

Ollie added that different types of crime are more likely to crop up at certain times.

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Morning shift workers often deal with burglaries and criminal damage incidents.

Whereas night shift workers are more likely to deal with assault, violence and mental health-related calls.

According to the call handlers, there is no handbook on how to deal with callers, nor a script to follow.

However support, training and mentorships are given to those new to the role.

"I think 'How would I want people to deal with me in this situation'. You need to focus on what you need to know," Ollie said.

When asked how he deals with the mental toll of the job, he added: "We try not to think about some of them.

“I find it easy to switch off and we have welfare rooms and things that can help you.”

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However, sometimes this is easier said than done.

Inspector Tom Dorman is the control room inspector and was on duty in 2021 when Olly Stephens, age 13, was found stabbed in a Reading park.

He was also on duty during the Forbury Gardens knife attack in 2020.

"That stuck with me," Tom said. "People are still talking about this."

Now four years into the role, Tom says the force has "come a long way" with its welfare support.

"There used to be a distinction between the officers on the ground and those in the call centre. We are now one big team and we are in it together."

While the call handlers deal with their fair share of hard-hitting calls, there are the odd calls that workers can look back on with a smile.

Eddie Elias, who has been with the force for three and a half years, said: "You get loads of silly calls. There was a very elderly lady who called screaming saying she needed help.

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"She was in such distress. Turned out a cat had gotten into her house and had laid on her bed so she couldn't go to sleep.

"It is not something the police would normally attend and she had phoned a few times. She was getting more distressed, so I managed to speak to the control desk and get some officers to go around. They managed to shoo the cat out.

"On the whole, there aren't funny calls, but people who phone for the wrong reasons. People think police can deal with anything."

Julie Upshell, who has been working as a call handler for five years, added: "Calls can be anything from a general enquiry to a life and death 999 call. 

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"I tend to remember the serious road traffic collisions. When they come in autopilot kicks in and you know what to ask and what information is needed to dispatch officers as soon as possible."

"We do get lots of silly calls. They range from amusing to abusive." Abusive calls can result in arrests.