Heat rises, so does demand

We’ve seen temperatures rise this summer, hitting record highs. As summer develops and schools break up, more people head outdoors to enjoy the hot weather. But when the mercury rises, inevitably so do the number of calls to police.

Sunny days and heat waves are welcome for many of us, and I certainly am a bit of a sunworshipper, but the summer months can also bring additional challenges for emergency services. We’ve already seen this play out in recent heatwaves. Southwest Ambulance Service Trust (which covers our county) reported experiencing its busiest day on record recently, receiving more than 5,200 calls to its 999 control rooms, and managing more than 4,300 incidents in a single day. The Trust said demand was driven by extreme hot weather during a Red Heat-Health Alert. It reported a 34% increase in demand on what would normally be expected at that time of year.

It’s not much different here in policing. In June 2026, Gloucestershire experienced a Red Extreme Heat Warning on Wednesday 24 June and Thursday 25 June. On those two days alone Gloucestershire’s Force Control Room received 744 999 calls and 971 calls to 101. That’s 1,715 people in Gloucestershire calling the police in just two days.

Compare this to the same two days last year (2025) where we had 539 calls to 999, so that’s seen a 38% increase this year in the heat. And for 101 calls it was a 7% increase on the same two days last year.

In July 2026, UKHSA issued Amber Heat‑Health Alerts for parts of England, including the Southwest on 12–15 July. In that time frame there was 1,436 999 calls and 2,120 calls to 101. That’s another 3,556 people calling the police in the heatwave.

While we can’t say it’s purely the heat, our demand in summer always increases. Let’s not forget the impact of the Football World Cup too. Large events like this, busy town centres and increased travel can all place additional pressure on policing resources.

Behind the scenes, hardworking control room staff work around the clock to answer calls, assess risk and ensure officers are deployed where they are needed most. Every call is important, and teams work incredibly hard to respond to emergencies as quickly as possible, often dealing with multiple critical incidents at the same time. Despite increasing workloads, the vast majority of 999 calls are still answered in less than 10 seconds, and 101 calls in less than two minutes.

If a crime is happening now, someone is in immediate danger, or there is a threat to life, always call 999.

For non-emergency matters, such as reporting a historical crime, please use 101 or report online wherever possible. Many incidents and concerns can be reported quickly and easily through the Constabulary’s website, helping to keep phone lines free for those who need urgent assistance.

You’ll likely see similar messages on this topic being shared by the Constabulary. It really is essential that when you need help, you know which communications channel best meets your need.