Mitel gets behind first wave of Single Non-Emergency Number roll-out
London - Following the designation of 101 as the new Single Non-Emergency Number (SNEN) by the Home Office, Mitel today announced that Cardiff Council and South Wales Police are rolling out an integrated Mitel IP communications and contact centre solution to support the service.
Cardiff Council and South Wales Police are one of the five regional partnerships between police forces and local authorities that are involved in the first wave of the SNEN roll out. Cardiff Council has been commissioned by South Wales Police to host the system based on a proven successful model using integrated Mitel IP telephony and contact centre technology. The new contact centre will provide the public with reliable advice and action on non-urgent crime, policing, community safety and anti-social behaviour issues.
Crispin O'Connell, Chief ICT Officer at Cardiff Council, said: "The single non-emergency number is a significant development towards improving the quality of life for residents, whilst also taking the burden of non-urgent calls off police 999 services. Its success depends on highly skilled advisors having immediate access to multiple sources of information which requires an extremely reliable and integrated data and voice infrastructure. With Mitel IP communications integrated with our knowledge management systems, we're confident that we've got the best possible solution in place to provide an excellent level of service."
A brand new contact centre, staffed by over 50 new SNEN employees, contains two Mitel 3300 IP Communications Platforms (ICP), which fully integrate with the Cardiff Council's main Mitel contact centre system. Customer service representatives (CSRs) use a new version of the Council's CRM known as the SNEN Portal. Fully integrated with Mitel Commander, CSRs can send electronic information directly to the relevant service provider's database via a standard XML data exchange. Advisors can also access a comprehensive GIS system that provides information such as street lamp and traffic light locations. In addition, a dual desktop enables the use of police command and control systems as well as access to the Police National Computer allowing the direct reporting of non-urgent crimes.
When the system goes live this summer, callers in the Cardiff area will be automatically identified by their location and intelligently routed to the new SNEN contact centre. Highly trained CSRs will either resolve the query immediately or will refer the incident to a new joint Police Tasking Unit or to other relevant service agencies.
Mark Mathias, Superintendent South Wales Police, said: "A high percentage of calls to the 999 number are not actually emergencies and often result from people simply not knowing who to call. The SNEN is designed to link service requests with the relevant service providers, whilst allowing the emergency services to respond more effectively to real emergencies. Cardiff Council has already proved to have exemplary contact centres and we're confident that the service will run highly efficiently."
Prior to the implementation, a detailed business benefits analysis involving Mitel, Cardiff Council and South Wales Police took place to obtain user acceptance and identify the critical success factors. The results pointed to multiple benefits including 24-hour access to non-emergency services, improved citizen confidence and better use of information.
Graham Bevington, managing director, Mitel UK, said: "Mitel has worked extremely closely with all the parties involved in getting the SNEN up and running in the Cardiff area and we're confident that the service will be well received. Cardiff Council has already made a huge impact on improving local community services through its innovative use of the Mitel multi-media contact centre and we expect the SNEN facility to be equally successful."
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About Mitel
Mitel is a market leader for voice, video and data convergence over broadband networks. With a focus on the user experience, the company delivers advanced communications solutions that are easily customized for individual business needs. Mitel solutions extend from intuitive desktop appliances and applications through to Applications and Services Gateways that enable business process integration and enhancement. Customers are provided with innovative ways to leverage their resources and migrate to the benefits of IP communications at their own pace. Mitel is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with offices, partners and resellers worldwide. For more information please visit www.mitel.com.
About SNEN
1. SNEN operators will deal with enquiries over the phone by giving advice and information where needed, arranging for action to be taken when appropriate or by directing the caller to a person or organisation who can help them.
2. SNEN will work alongside 999 - SNEN operators will be able to direct callers to the 999 emergency services if the call needs an emergency response.
3. The Government made a commitment to introduce the SNEN in its 2005 Election Manifesto, as one of a package of measures to improve community safety set out in the Police Reform White Paper Building Communities, Beating Crime (November 2004).
4. The first wave involves partnerships between police forces and local authorities in the Hampshire Police force area, Cardiff in South Wales, the Northumbria Police force area, Sheffield in South Yorkshire and Leicester City & Rutland County in Leicestershire.
About Cardiff Council
Cardiff Council runs multiple contact centres in the region providing services such as consumer advice and an out of hours GP service. It handles over 63,000 calls a month on average and resolves around 80% of queries at first point of contact. 'Connect to Cardiff' is an example of a multi-media service, facilitated by Mitel Call Centre Commander, that receives a tenth of enquires by email and has dramatically reduced call waiting times.
Cardiff Council chose Mitel following a competitive bid in 2001 for contact centre services. This was further confirmed in 2003 when Mitel was reconfirmed as the Council's preferred supplier for contact centre and telephony services, following a European Journal tender.
© Press Release 2006
