Derbyshire Police support 'Make yourself heard' campaign
This National Stalking Awareness week and Derbyshire Police are backing a national campaign to raise awareness of a system allowing mobile callers to contact police in an emergency, if they are unable to speak or make a noise.
The ‘Make yourself heard’ campaign launched earlier this week by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is intended to raise awareness of a national system called ‘silent solution’, in which callers who dial 999, from a mobile phone, but are too afraid to speak can press 55 to confirm they are in a genuine emergency.
Emergency (999) calls in the UK are initially handled by a BT operator, who will ask a few questions in order to determine the most appropriate emergency service for the situation.
If there is no response to these questions, and in order to filter out hoax or accidental calls, the operator will ask the caller to dial 55 if they are in a genuine emergency. The call will then be transferred to police.
Detective Chief Inspector Steve Shaw, Derbyshire Constabulary lead for Stalking and Domestic Abuse, said:
“There are a number of different 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.
“In these cases, the ‘silent solution’ system is vitally important as it could potentially save a life.
“Anyone who dials 55 on the BT operator’s instruction, within Derbyshire, will be put through to the force control room where one of our call handlers will attempt to establish the location of the caller and the nature of the emergency.
“It is really important to note that the police will not automatically have the location details of a caller who has pressed 55, but they may ask a series of yes or no questions to establish this and ask the caller to tap their keypad or whisper, if they are unable to speak normally. They can also follow up information provided by the mobile operator to get an approximate location.”
The system, which has been in place for a number of years, is not in operation for calls from landlines because it is less likely that accidental 999 calls will be made from landline phones. However, if a caller doesn’t respond to questions or only background noise can be heard from a landline call it will be connected to a police call handler.
More News From Amber Valley Info
| Council launches public surveys to shape future town centre investment Amber Valley Borough Council has launched a new project to support the revitalisation of its town centres and read more | |
| Trilogy Active Teams Up with BBC Radio Derby Supporting BBC Children in Need Trilogy Active proudly participated in a heartwarming and slightly wobbly challenge in support of BBC Ch read more | |
| Applications Open For Derbyshire Primary School Places Parents can now apply to Derbyshire County Council for their child's infant or primary school place for September 2026. read more | |
| Derbyshire County Council Set To Agree 70 Million Investment Into County's Roads Cabinet members at Derbyshire County Council are to be asked to agree a major programme of work to i read more | |
| Appeal after teenagers sexually assaulted in Heanor park Police Officers are appealing for the publics help after two teenaged girls were seriously sexually assaulted at a Heanor pa read more | |
The Amber Valley Info Noticeboard
| Launch Of WOMBLE MANIA! At the Heights of Abraham, Opened by Marcus Robertson, Son of Wombles author, Elisabeth Beresford, officially launched WOMBLE MANIA! at the Heights of Abraha read more | |
| Belper School and Sixth Form Centre Closed Today Due to a significant water leak, resulting in the water being turned off at school, we unfortunately have to close the school today. read more | |
| 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 read more | |
| 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 | |
