What do you do if you need to ring 999 but it's not safe to speak?

Police across London, Kent and Surrey are keen to spread the word of a safe but little-known approach.

The "Silent Solutions" system is used to help decide whether officers are sent out in response to a silent 999 call, thousands of which are made each day.

Here's how it works:

  • If you ring 999 you will be asked which emergency service you require.
  • If you do not say anything, the operator will ask you to cough or indicate in some other way if the call is an emergency.
  • If you do not feel it is safe to make any noise (eg if you do not want to alert someone to your presence), then your call will be transferred to a system that will ask you to press 55 if your call is an emergency.

This message has been circulated on social media, since being published by a newspaper in Devon.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for National Contact Management, Deputy Chief Constable Alan Todd said: “The national ‘silent solutions’ system enables people to contact the emergency services without speaking by detecting background noise and prompting the caller to press ‘55’ if they want to be directed to police.

“Our steering group has reviewed the system and concluded that it is effective at enabling people who are unable to speak to contact the police while filtering out the huge volumes of accidental 999 calls made every day.

"However, the system is only effective if people understand how it works. The IPCC investigation into the police handling of the murder of Kerry Power demonstrates the tragic consequences of people not knowing how the system works. 

"We are now considering how we can best educate the public and police officers about the system to ensure that those at risk of harm get the help they need.”

A police spokesman added: "Please do not think that just because you dial 999 that police will attend. We totally understand that sometimes people are unable or too afraid to talk, however it must be clear that we will not routinely attend a silent 999 call.

"There must be some indication that the call has not been mis-dialled."

Police can only go to a location if they know where to go and this may be very difficult for them to find out if the silent caller is using a mobile phone.