NEARLY 90,000 calls to the police’s 101 number were abandoned last year.

Data obtained through freedom of information laws by The Mail showed tens of thousands of people had called the non-emergency line only to hang up before getting the chance to speak to an operator.

In 2018, around 86,000 calls to the number were abandoned, a drop from more than 100,000 the previous year.

The 101 number is used to contact police in non-emergency situations, with callers placed in a queue to speak to an operator.

One caller held the line for around 70 minutes before getting through.

Peter McCall, Cumbria’s police and crime commissioner, accepted the situation was ‘not good enough’.

He said: “We are working to get 101 to the level we want it to be and has been in the past.

“To most people I would say hold the line and wait, but no-one should have to wait 70 minutes and to them I would say put the phone down.”

Calls are handled at Cumbria Police’s control room at its headquarters in Penrith.

On average, callers waited around five minutes to speak to an officer on 101 last year.

Chief Inspector Gaynor Wardle said: “In terms of the calls that were ended before being answered, the caller may have ended the call for any number of reasons and could have done so after only a short time.

“Reasons for ending calls can include being put through to a particular department and a specific person not answering that they wish to speak to.

“People who do wait what is an average of a little over five minutes were speaking with an experienced police officer with the skills and knowledge to resolve queries quickly, without the need to be transferred or travel to a police station.

She added: “Having calls answered directly by police officers has reduced demand for an officer to be deployed to some calls, which has freed up officers on the ground to deal with more complex crimes and issues.

“Cumbria Constabulary are constantly looking at how the first point of contact resolution can be improved.”

Data also revealed 999 calls to Cumbria Police reached a five-year high last year, with 59,000 recorded calls in 2018.

The number of 999 calls has grown steadily year on year since 2013.

Cumbria police said people waited around 10 seconds to get through. Mr McCall said emailing 101@cumbria.police.uk was just as effective for reporting crime as calling the number.