Home > Ringing the changes in our force control room
Ringing the changes in our force control room
You won’t believe how much our force control room has changed over the years! It handles our 999 and 101 calls and dispatches officers 24/7. But today's control room is almost virtually unrecognisable compared to the way it looked 65 years ago...
1952
Looking like something from a World War II film, the locations of officers were represented by models and pushed around a map, overseen by a desk sergeant.
1974
Twenty years on, the models and push sticks have gone. The force control room had grown bigger, with individual officers monitoring and dispatching different officers.
1981
A control room operator flicks between channels on his switchboard as he broadcasts to units on the ground.
1994
It’s IT… but not as we know it! Computers are commonplace in the force control room by the mid 1990s, but the software was extremely basic by today’s standards.
It’s IT… but not as we know it! Computers are commonplace in the force control room by the mid 1990s, but the software was extremely basic by today’s standards.
Today
Our 200 members of control room staff use highly-specialised digital technology to respond to an average of 1,200 calls every day, 365 days of the year.
Our 200 members of control room staff use highly-specialised digital technology to respond to an average of 1,200 calls every day, 365 days of the year.
Meet some of the current control room team and find out more about their jobs by clicking here.