Humberside Police: Make The Right Call

Between June 2023 and May 2024, Humberside Police received 23,279 abandoned 999 calls to our force control room.

This is where someone has called 999 and hung up before speaking to an operator. Humberside Police have a duty to ensure that the call was a mistaken dial, rather than a genuine emergency, and this takes valuable time that could be spent helping those in need. 

For each abandoned call, it can take anywhere between ten seconds to ten minutes to confirm if someone is in need or not. Following up on abandoned calls is necessary but takes valuable time and resources away from those who genuinely need our help.

So, if you call the police by mistake, no matter what the reason, stay on the line and explain it was an error.
If you call 999 and hang up, the first thing they will try to do is call you back. This will show up as a withheld number, but please answer. You won’t be in trouble; they just want to check that you are okay. 

The ultimate advice is if you dial 999 by mistake, stay on the line so they can check you’re okay!
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