We join Suffolk police's response team to see them in action

Crime reporter Jude Holden spent the day with the Suffolk Police response team, learning about policing first hand at a time where respons

On the day we joined the team, the first emergency call that comes in is to a man suspected of being in possession of a knife at a home in Ipswich. 

PC David Cook puts the siren on and as we are on our way to the scene we hear more details.

We learn the suspect is armed and there is a woman and children inside the house.

On arrival, PC Cook is the first there and calls for the suspect to come out. He is then met by armed response officers.

We watch the response to the scene unfold with the man taken into custody.

This was just one of many serious incidents going on across the county at the same time and just another day for the Response Investigations Teams.

June 24 marked the start of national response policing week, with forces tasked with answering 999 calls within 10 seconds.

Figures for 2024 up to the end of February show that almost 91% of 999 calls were answered within the national performance target of 10 seconds.

The number of 999 calls received by the Contact and Control Room has increased by almost 30% over the past three years, from an average of 8,645 per month in 2019 to an average of 11,141 per month in 2023, and these numbers continue to grow.

Assistant Chief Constable Eamonn Bridger spoke about the importance of rapid reaction: “When the public call us, often in one of the worst moments of their lives, they rightly expect us to arrive quickly, act professionally and protect them.

Assistant Chief Constable Eamonn Bridger (Image: Suffolk Police)

“It is therefore vital that we are effective when we respond to such emergency situations.”

The force is stretched across a huge variety of tasks.

Shortly after our first call, we were called out again to arrest a man cycling down Norwich Road who had breached the conditions of his release.

One of the police cars on Norwich Road (Image: Jude Holden)  

Some jobs, like the next one, are all about record keeping. 

PC Cook was given the briefing of an Ipswich woman who may be at risk of honour-based violence.

Honour-based violence happens when someone in a family or community is thought to have broken an honour code and is subject to abuse.

This woman had been forced into an arranged marriage and then claimed asylum in the UK.

Because of the potential danger, we visited the woman to discuss any possible risks she may be at and take any information to assist with the inquiry, before uploading it to the police system.

Soon after that, it was time for the late shift officers to take over.

ACC Bridger added: “We have highly committed and professional officers responding to emergencies in your communities, often placing themselves in danger to protect those more vulnerable in the interests of public service.

“We will continue to focus on their development and wellbeing and I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all of our response officers for the courage."