Force contact
Our Force Contact department takes around 3 million 999 and 101 calls per year, supports our Live Chat online service and controls thousands of incidents and policing operations. It’s the largest department in West Midlands Police, based in Aston, which includes:
- contact officers who answer emergency and non-emergency calls
- public contact officers working across seven public contact offices
- dispatchers who deploy police officers across the West Midlands to calls for help from the public
Register your interest
We aren't currently recruiting for contact officers. However, if you're interested in this role, you can register to be notified when we are recruiting again. You can do this under the 'Register now' header at the bottom of this page.
Roles
Contact officers
Contact officers at West Midlands Police are the first point of contact for the public to access help, often in emergency situations. They will sometimes need to make decisions which can mean the difference between life and death. As a contact officer you will encounter distressing and very sad situations. However, it is a hugely rewarding job where no two days are alike and you will feel an immense sense of satisfaction knowing you have helped someone in their time of need.
Salary: £26,487-£29,874 + up to 34.9 per cent shift allowance (taking your starting salary up to circa £35,000)
Location: Aston, Birmingham
Type: Permanent - full time or part time - shifts
What you need to be a contact officer
To be a contact officer you need:
- the ability to make decisions under pressure
- to be organised with the ability to prioritise
- to be able to transcribe and accurately record information
- highly developed problem solving skills
- to be able to deal with callers who are distressed, angry, upset or aggressive in a professional manner whilst using your influencing and verbal communication skills to gather information
- the ability to work independently and as part of a team
- to be very customer focused with the ability to empathise but take affirmative action
- excellent IT skills and accurate keyboard skills - at least 25 words per minute
Additional information
Contact centre operators will:
- receive and process all calls for service made, via all channels, to West Midlands Police by the public, other agencies and forces. Engaging with other emergency services, internal departments and external partners as required
- make clear, timely decisions ensuring all calls for service are assessed, graded and dealt with in line with the National Decision Model, THRIVE+ and force policy to a level which enables the safe and effective allocation of appropriate resources
- use all available technology within the contact centre environment. This will include the operation, understanding and interrogation of all IT systems relevant to the role
- deal with calls for service at the first point of contact where appropriate and possible, utilising the Grading Framework to identify the most appropriate service option where resolution is not possible at first point of contact
- deal with and ensure that the appropriate manager is informed and updated regarding any issues pertaining to threat, harm, risk and vulnerability which are likely to impact on or affect service delivery and performance
- apply and work to current local and national standards as applicable e.g.
- Home Office Counting Rules
- National Standards of Incident Recording
- National Call Handling Standards
- Force Contact Call Handling Standards
- provide appropriate support, advice and/or guidance to victims and witnesses
- gather and record intelligence for the purpose of preventing, reducing and detecting crime
- take personal responsibility for daily self-briefing on all appropriate intelligence systems and partake in scheduled briefings
- maintain an up-to-date understanding and access of all operating systems, protocols, policies and procedures relevant to force contact responsibilities
- actively support colleagues in line with any recruitment and training for force contact.
- carry out such other duties which are consistent with the nature, responsibilities and grading of the post
Essential skills
- Accurate keyboard skills, minimum 25 wpm
- Accurate verbal and written language skills
- Able to prioritise and multi-task under pressure, achieve deadlines, whilst maintaining quality
- Be a proven decision maker
- Take personal responsibility for self-development which the organisation will support
Selection process
Applicants will follow our specific recruitment and selection process for contact centre roles, which involves:
- an initial online application
- an online test (SHL assessment lasting approx. 20 minutes)
- in-person assessment at an Assessment Centre (these take place on Wednesday evenings 6pm-8pm, B4 6NQ)
- a conditional offer of employment - subject to recruitment checks outlined below:
- medical checks and clearance
- vetting checks and clearance
- reference checks and clearance
- a formal offer of employment
For more information, please contact the recruitment team via email.
Hours of work and shift patterns
Force Contact operates on a 24/7, 365-days-a-year basis to be able to deliver a service to our communities across the West Midlands and be there to help those who are in need. Contact officers work shifts with staggered start times, following two shift patterns, which are:
- 24 hours a day, seven days a week shift pattern - six on, four off, early/late/night shifts
- six on, three off shift pattern, made of early and late shifts
As well as the salary and shift allowance, you will receive an excellent pension, a generous annual leave allocation, free access to staff support services, you will qualify for a Blue Light Discount card and be able to access sport and social club facilities.
Register now
Please email our careers team to register your interest. We will notify you when we are recruiting again. In your email, please include your:
- full name
- email address
- contact number
Add 'Force Contact – Register Your Interest' as the email subject.