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
| The dazzling Darley Park Concert returns this summer The Darley Park Concert will return in 2026, marking the grand finale of The Darley Park Weekender. This summer tradition invite read more | |
| DLRAA Receives Donation From Ripley Tuesday Club 2026 On Tuesday 20th January 2026 Ripley Tuesday Club donated £292.72 for the Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulan read more | |
| Holocaust Memorial Avenue extended with new tree planting at Alfreton Park The Holocaust Memorial Avenue at Alfreton Welfare Recreation Ground has been extended with new tree planti read more | |
| Community power secures future for Nature and People at Middleton Moor Community power secures future for Nature and People at Middleton Moor Thanks to the extraordinary generosity read more | |
| More help for residents to get online and go digital across Derbyshire A £50,000 funding boost will help Derbyshire residents get online, stay connected and access vital servi read more | |
The Amber Valley Info Noticeboard
| Stallholder Bookings Now Open For The Tansley Big Day Out We're excited to announce that Tansley's Big Day Out 2026 will take place on 6th & 7th June 2026! read more | |
| Christmas and New Year bin collection dates Over the festive season, bin collections will operate on revised schedules. Some collections may take place up to two days earlier than u read more | |
| 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 | |
