HAMPSHIRE and Isle of Wight police and crime commissioner Donna Jones has revealed police contact figures which show that just 23 per cent of all contact into Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary is crime-related.

Last month the force was contacted 58,025 times via 999, 101 and online reporting, but only 35,596 of those contacts were recorded as incidents and just 13,507 were crime-related.

The remaining 22,429 calls were for non-police matters which take up valuable call-handling time.

Ms Jones said: “These extra calls for non-police business are creating a queue for calls to be answered, not just on the 101 line but on the 999 line as well.

“Many of the calls and reports police receive are for other agencies and this creates a queue for genuine emergencies and those wishing to report a crime to get through.

“Unnecessary online reports also have to be reviewed by call-handling staff, which takes them away from processing crime reports and other serious incidents reported online.”