Get the day's biggest stories sent direct to your inbox so you never miss a thing Greater Manchester Police saw a record summer surge in 999 calls last month amid rising crime reports and soaring waits for 101.
Half of all calls to the 101 number were abandoned in July, rising to two thirds among those deemed the least urgent. The M.E.N.
has been unable to find any month previously where such a large proportion of callers hung up. Callers waited an average eight minutes to get through to the GMP switchboard in July, while all but the most urgent calls then waited, on average, a further eight minutes for a 101 call handler to answer.
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