FROM life-and-death situations to trivial concerns, a 10-hour shift as a call handler at Cheshire Police HQ is never the same.

Each year the force control centre in Winsford receives approximately 500,000 calls and the voice on the other end of the phone is not only tasked with taking the call but managing the incident, deploying police officers and recording the crime.

“We take a massive range of calls on 999 and 101,” said Julie Haines, call management supervisor.

“Unfortunately we can have a queue for 101 but the 999 calls skip this.

“The call can be anything from something ridiculous to something serious where someone wants to kill themself.

“They want the police to find them and they want to let us know so we can get there before their families discover their body. They are very distressing.

“I have had a man jump off a motorway bridge when I was on the phone to him.

“In a day we have around 35 concern for the welfare calls.”

Call handlers must complete a rigorous training programme before they are able to take 101 and 999 calls.

This includes classroom training for five weeks and a further five weeks under the supervision of a mentor.

“Every day is a learning curve,” said Steve Martin, communications operator.

“There isn’t a massive framework of what you should and shouldn’t do when dealing with someone who wants to take their own life.

“Each call you take on its own merit. We all develop our own style. One of the key things is to build up a rapport with people quickly.

“We will keep them talking while we are arranging the response. We ask them about their hobbies and interests and if there is something you can talk about you grab a hold of that and go with it.”

A life-and-death emergency is part and parcel of the job of a call handler.

“We will have our headsets on and we will hear a beep and that call could be anything,” said Steve.

“I remember one of the most remarkable days I had was when I took a call about an explosion at a factory where sadly several people passed away.

“That’s the worst kind of call you can take and that was pretty distressing so I had to take some time off to compose myself.

“They are describing on the phone what they can see and how they are feeling. Your heart goes out to them and you are doing what you can to get them the assistance they need.

“The next call that I received was someone reporting a lost wallet. It really is one extreme to another.”