Richard Graham MP, Credit;SWNS
A Tory MP became a victim of cuts to front-line policing after complaining he had to wait half an hour to get through to officers when his £100 bike was stolen.
Richard Graham, 62, moaned about the 101 response in a lengthy Facebook post after his Trek bicycle was pinched from outside his office in Gloucestershire on August 14.
He said he phoned 101 but was shocked when it took 33 minutes to get a response on the non-emergency police phone service.
After it also took one week to receive a crime reference number from the police by text, the Gloucester MP took to social media to complain about his experience.
He also attached a blurry photo of his red Trek bike, appealing for its return and offering a reward of £15.
His gripe comes after 23,500 police staff jobs have been lost in England and Wales since the Conservative party came to power in 2010.
In a lengthy, almost 1,000-word post, he wrote: “I rang for about 10 minutes, then took an incoming call & tried again.
“33 minutes later I got through to a helpful woman who gave me an incident number and suggested I look on Facebook Market in case the bike was there.
“Exactly a week later I got a text from the Police with a crime number.
“I am left wondering a few things. How long is reasonable to wait when dialling 101? Is 33 minutes normal?
“What is the ‘service target’ of how long we should expect to wait for a reply? Are resources increased at peak times?
“How long should a crime incident number take to be texted to you? Is a week normal? Again is there a service target and if so what is it?”
A spokesman for Gloucestershire Constabulary said: “While we’re pleased Mr Graham feels he received a good service from the officers on the ground we are looking into the concerns he raises.
“The average wait time for people calling 101 has been around four minutes this year but can vary considerably and in peak times such as weekends it can be considerably longer while we prioritise 999 calls and respond to incidents that may involve a threat to life.
“The bike was stolen during one of our busiest weeks on record for emergency call-outs so this is likely to have played a part in the delay.
“The time taken for crime numbers to be sent to a victim can also vary depending on demand but we do it as quickly as we can.
“They are allocated once officers have made a full assessment of the circumstances and any investigative leads officers can pursue.
“This does not mean that enquiries are not carried out as early as possible and, on this occasion, although it took a week for the crime number to be shared, other enquiries such as visits to addresses and a CCTV review were taking place by officers in the meantime.
“We understand that many people feel more comfortable speaking to someone on the phone via 101 but we would encourage people to consider reporting non-emergency incidents via the reporting forms on our website, particularly during busy times.
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