The UK’s Royal Police has reportedly become increasingly concerned about the rising number of emergency calls made by Android users as a result of unintentional contact, which is placing a significant strain on police resources. In recent years, the number of silent emergency calls made from mobile phones in the UK has risen significantly and is now at an all-time high. Each silent call is expected to take the police an average of 20 minutes to deal with, placing a significant strain on their resources. It is thought that the addition of emergency help features to an increasing number of Android smartphones is the main reason for the rise in misdialed calls. In a startling example, Cornwall Police received 169 silent calls to the police between 12pm and 7pm on a single Sunday.
Accidental emergency calls are not just a problem for the UK police. Local users have been advised by both the Canadian Emergency Medical Services and the European Emergency Number Association to disable the emergency call feature. However, with the introduction of Google’s Android 13 system upgrade, the situation has worsened and there has been an unprecedented boom in silent alarm calls. To reduce the number of accidental emergency calls and free up emergency services to deal with real crises, the British police are aggressively asking the public to turn off this feature on their phones.
A Google representative has said that in response to these growing concerns, the company is committed to providing further support to handset manufacturers to help minimise accidental emergency calls. Google is working directly with these manufacturers to develop and implement solutions that effectively reduce the problem. Manufacturers are expected to provide an update soon that will directly address this issue, improving the user experience while reducing the demand on emergency services. The aim is to strike a balance between reducing the disruption caused by false alarms and ensuring that genuine emergency calls receive the attention and resources they deserve.
The UK Royal Police and Google aim to improve emergency services by raising awareness, encouraging responsible use of emergency features and working with manufacturers. This combined effort aims to improve efficiency, reduce wasted resources and ensure the effective deployment of emergency services for the benefit of the public.
