Police can’t automatically track your location if you press 55 during a 999 call

A post on Facebook, shared more than 38,000 times, wrongly claims that “new technology” means people who are unable to speak on a 999 call can press 55 and the operator will be able to locate them. 

The post says: “If you ever find yourself dialling 999 and you can’t speak press 55 and they can track where you are from dialling location - new technology [sic].”

This isn’t completely true. Dialling 55 doesn’t mean your location can be automatically traced, especially not if you are calling from a mobile phone. 

This claim has been circulating online since at least 2019, when we first wrote about it, and we have checked a number of similarly false claims about dialling 55 during a 999 call since.  

False or misleading claims online like these have the potential to cause harm to people who are trying to contact emergency services. Online claims can spread fast and far, and are difficult to contain and correct—even if they have been fact checked in the past. 

All 999 calls are answered first by BT operators

All 999 calls, whether they are made from a mobile phone or a landline, are first directed to call centres and answered by BT operators. 

It is these operators who will ask what service the caller needs. If no service is requested, but the operator can hear anything suspicious throughout the process, the caller will be connected to a police call handler. 

‘Silent solution’ process works for mobile phones

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) says that it’s always best to speak to the operator if possible, even by whispering. If this isn’t possible the operator may direct you to cough or tap keys on the phone in response to questions. 

However, if making a sound could put you or someone else in danger and the BT operator can’t decide if an emergency service is needed, your call will be transferred to something called the Silent Solution system. The system is not used for calls from landlines.

Designed to filter out accidental or hoax calls, the system will first play an automated police message lasting 20 seconds and starts with “you are through to the police”. It will then ask you to press 55 to be put through to police call management. 

The BT operator will remain on the line and listen. If you press 55, they will transfer the call to the police. If you do not, the call will be terminated. 

You can listen here to an example of what a silent call from a mobile phone might sound like. 

Police have clearly stated that pressing 55 will not allow the call handler to track your location.

As we’ve written before, landlines can be linked to an address, but calls from mobile phones will only show a general location at the time of the call. The NPCC previously told us that the police “can’t get exact locations from mobile phone calls because of things like tower blocks or densely populated areas”.

The NPCC also previously told Full Fact: “Police will not always send officers to silent calls so it is important for callers to try and provide as much information as they can—in any way they can.”

999 calls from landlines should be traceable to your location

As it’s less likely that a 999 call will be made accidentally from a landline, the Silent Solution system is not in place. 

However, if an emergency call is received from a landline and there is no request for an emergency service, the caller does not answer questions and the BT operator cannot determine from the background noise if an emergency service is needed, the caller will be connected to a police call handler. 

The IOPC’s guidance also says that if for any reason you disconnect the call on a landline by hanging up you have 45 seconds to pick it up again and the call will resume. If this happens, the BT call handler will also forward the call to the police.

Police have confirmed that calling 999 from a landline automatically provides the police with information about your location.