Response times to non-emergencies have caused concerns

The bulk of phone contacts across the area are handled by a centralised centre at Bilston in Midlothian.

There have been concerns at the handling of non-emergency calls, with response rates falling short of the target of answering 90% in 30 seconds.

Supt Mark Williams said a range of steps were being taken to tackle any problems with the system.

He said the police recognised there were areas where action needed to be taken.

There is a whole host of areas that we are developing and moving forward on Supt Mark Williams

"I would agree there is room for improvement and we are working very hard to deliver that improvement," he said.

"We have seen an improvement across all of our areas of performance over the last three years but we recognise that there are still improvements to be made."

A strategic review of the service has made more than 50 recommendations, ranging from human resources to IT issues.

Reduce demand

"There are areas around reducing demand in the first place," said Supt Williams.

"That is working better and more closely with our partners and other agencies to ensure that when people are looking for assistance they get it from the right agency, which is not always the police.

"We do deal with a lot of business that is not police-related."

The force is also looking at changing its shift patterns to better meet demand.

"There is a whole host of areas that we are developing and moving forward on and overall, bit by bit, they will add up to really improve the performance that we can deliver," said Supt Williams.