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Yorkshire, UK, Aug 11, 2022 -- Police are urging people to stay on the line if they call 999 by mistake – as it is estimated that the equivalent of two call handlers’ shifts a day are taken up with dealing with dropped 999 calls.

West Yorkshire Police is raising awareness that if you realise that you have pocket-dialled or your child has called 999 and the call has connected then it saves police time if you stay on the line and explain what has happened.

Tom Donohoe, Customer Contact Centre Manager, said:

"On an average day, we receive around 200 dropped 999 calls. For every one of these calls, our call handlers must get back in contact with the caller and check that it wasn’t a legitimate call for service and that the caller is ok. This can be extremely time consuming and frustrating, especially if we struggle to get back in touch with the caller. I estimate that around two full call handlers’ shifts are taken up every day making these welfare checks from dropped 999 calls.

"I completely understand why your first instinct would be to hang up if you realise that you or a child have dialled 999 by mistake but we would ask that you stay on the line so that we can quickly establish that you do not need the police or any other emergency service.

"It is also probably worth a timely reminder to try and keep your phone locked and out of reach of children when it is not in use."

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Posted by Veronica Silva Cusi, news correspondent
Source: https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk

Date Posted: Friday, August 12, 2022