The ‘secret’ code if you call 999 but cannot speak

Do you know how to get help from 999 if you’re in a life or death situation but cannot speak? 

A campaign is aiming to raise awareness of the Silent Solution system – where pressing 55 lets the operator know the caller needs police help.

Kerry Power was murdered in 2013 by her stalker after making a silent 999 call, believing – incorrectly – it would be enough to let police know she was in trouble.

But her call was terminated after she did not speak or make any sound.

Ms Power’s family said the stalker, her ex-partner, broke into the house after being unable to accept the end of their relationship.

“After weeks of stalking and inappropriate behaviour, he broke into Kerry’s house with a key he had previously had cut,” they explained.

“As things escalated Kerry became worried for the safety of herself and her son, who was asleep upstairs, and called 999.

“Although she was not able to speak for the fear of alerting the intruder to her actions, she followed the advice given by a police officer during an earlier visit – that she could call and not speak, as the police held her details [and] they would be alerted and attend.

“Unbeknown to Kerry, this was fiction and nobody came… a short while after the call, she was strangled.”

Her family is supporting the campaign in the hope it could save people in a similar situation.

“It is always best to actually speak to a police call handler if you can, even if by whispering,” says Catrin Evans from The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

“But if you are putting yourself or someone else in danger by making a sound, there is something you can do.

“Make yourself heard by coughing, tapping the handset or once prompted by the automated system, by pressing 55.”

People put through to the Silent Solution system by the 999 operator will hear an automated message for 20 seconds which will ask the caller to press 55.

A police handler will then take over and attempt to communicate using simple yes or no answers.

The system is used to filter the 20,000 silent 999 calls made each day – but the IOPC says only 50 people a day currently use the 55 command.

It only works on mobile phones – if a silent call is made from a landline then the operator can choose to connect a police call handler if they think necessary.

Women’s Aid says the system can help domestic abuse survivors make the vital call to emergency services.

“Many abusers will threaten to hurt or even kill them if they try to speak out about the abuse,” says the charity’s Lisa Johnson.

“This means that for far too long many women have not been able to access the emergency support they so desperately need from the police.

“For a long time we have been encouraging survivors to use the Silent Solution system to make a silent 999 call if they feel it would be dangerous for them to speak to the call operator.”

(c) Sky News 2019: The ‘secret’ code if you call 999 but cannot speak