When you need to call 999 but can't talk
When you need to call 999 but can't talk - the ‘silent solution’ can help.
Press 55 on your mobile when prompted, to confirm you are in a genuine emergency.
Emergency calls in the UK are answered by a BT operator, who will ask a few questions to determine the most appropriate emergency service for your situation.
If they get no response to these questions, the operator will ask the caller to press 55 on their mobile phone keypad. The call can then be transferred to the relevant police force.
“There are a number of situations where a caller may be in a genuine emergency but is too afraid to speak for fear of putting themselves or another person in danger”, said Superintendent Adam Wilkins, who leads our Contact Management department.
“In these cases, knowing about the ‘silent solution’ could potentially save a life.
“Anyone in Derbyshire who dials 55 on the BT operator’s instruction, will be put through to our Force Control Room, and we will work to establish their location and the nature of the emergency.
“It’s important to note that we won’t automatically have their location details, so we will need ask a series of yes or no questions to establish this.
“If you can't speak, listen carefully to the questions and instructions from our contact handler so they can arrange the help you need.
“We can also follow up with your network supplier to get an approximate location. We routinely do this with abandoned calls so we can check on the caller’s welfare. We can’t assume that the person is okay – and every second counts in an emergency.”
Please note, the silent solution is not available on landlines. However, when 999 calls are made from landlines, information about where you’re calling from should be automatically available to call handlers to help provide a response if needed.
Read more: How to make a silent 999 call | Derbyshire Constabulary
More Posts From The Amber Valley Info Noticeboard
The opening night of the Lights of Abraham Winter Lights Trail The brand new winter lights trail, the 'Lights of Abraham' opened on Friday 22nd November at the Heights of Abraham in read more | |
Can You Help DREAM Paranormal With Their Research My name is Simon Dean, Lead Investigator of DREAM paranormal and I am looking for your help. read more | |
Cold Callers claiming to be working on behalf of Derbyshire County Council Policehave seen and increase in reports of 'cold callers' where people are claiming to be working on behal read more | |
Subscriptions For Amber Valley Borough Councils 2024 Garden Waste Service Are Now Open The garden waste collection service is available to all residents in Amber Valley except for r read more | |
Mobile networks are being improved in Ripley Mobile networks are being improved in Ripley boosting the speed, performance and coverage of mobile services in the area. read more | |
News On Amber Valley Info
Council Submits Bid For County Reorganisation Derbyshire County Council has submitted to Government a request to be included in the first wave of councils to progress reorganisation read more | |
Problem property closed in Alfreton An Alfreton house linked to anti-social behaviour and drug related activity, which was causing misery for neighbours, has been shut down. read more | |
Mobile speed camera locations in Derbyshire during January 2025 Derbyshire Casualty Reduction Enforcement Support Team (C.R.E.S.T) will be carrying out mobile safety camera enforcem read more | |
All Eyes On Relaunched Ripley Opticians A long-standing customer stepped into the spotlight when he was chosen to officially open a newly relocated opticians in the town. read more | |
CCTV images released of two men following theft of car parts in Heanor Police Officers have released CCTV in an effort to trace two men after a number of car parts were stolen in He read more | |