We all hope we will never have to dial 999, particularly in a situation where you are unable to talk or express that you are in need of help.

But there is a way of alerting the emergency services in such a situation.

The procedure, known as 'Silent Solutions', decides whether to dispatch police to thousands of silent callers every day – but not everyone knows what to do.

A police calls operator
A police calls operator

You're probably aware that when you phone 999 (or 112), the operator will ask what emergency service you need.

If there's no request, the assistant will ask you to 'cough', or make some other audible indication in the case of a police emergency.

If even making any sound is dangerous, and therefore no request is made, the call will be put through to an automated system, which asks the caller to press '55' if they're in trouble.

If no sound is made and '55' isn't dialled, the police will not attend.

Police flashing blue lights

A police spokesman said: "Please do not think that just because you dial 999 that police will attend.


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

In 2016 an Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation highlighted a series of errors made by Devon and Cornwall in the way they handled the case of Kerry Power, which involved the silent solutions protocol.

In December 2013, the 36-year-old primary school administrative assistant told police she was being stalked by her former partner, bus driver David Wilder.

An officer told her she should make a 999 call if she felt threatened, and that police responded to silent 999 calls.

But police failed to explain the “silent solution” protocol to Ms Power, and when Wilder broke into her house, her 999 call was terminated without a police response.

Wilder murdered Ms Power while her 10-year-old son from a previous relationship lay sleeping upstairs at their home in Crownhill, Plymouth.