What to do if you’re one of nearly 500 people a week 'pocket dialling' 999 in Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire Police call handlers have made a ‘don’t hang up’ plea after taking nearly 500 pocket dialled 999 calls in just SEVEN DAYS.

Pocket dialling — also known a ‘bum dial’ through phones being carried in back pockets — is call started accidentally while an unlocked mobile is in the owner's pocket or bag and pressure on the screen activates the keypad. Recipients can hear random background noise when answering, which can sound like something sinister to emergency services.

Staff in Northamptonshire’s force control room logged 485 similar calls in one week during November. Phone owners usually hang up quickly in embarrassment but police say that leaves their call handlers still needing to investigate. Superintendent Chris Hillery said: “Everyone has accidentally dialled the wrong number at some point in their lives. But please, if you accidentally dial 999 stay on the line and speak to the operator to confirm with us that your call was a mistake.

“This allows us to be certain that the person calling is not in need of our help. In cases where the person hangs up, work will need to take place to call you back, check on your welfare and in some cases, deploy officers.

“We want to make sure that we are ready to deploy to genuine emergencies as quickly as possible and having to do these checks on pocket dials can often delay our response.

“Every second counts in an emergency and you will really help us out by simply staying on the line after a pocket dial, explaining that it was a mistake and therefore allowing us to close the call.”

Northamptonshire Police control room, based at force HQ at Wootton Hall, takes an average of 1,200 calls a day via 999 and the non-emergency 101 number. It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Every call goes through a threat, risk and harm assessment which leads to that call being prioritised accordingly — although many incidents can be reported online via the northantspolice.uk website.