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Police see 25% increase in 'pocket dials' to 999

Leicestershire Police say it's due to an update on Android Phones

Leicestershire Police says in the past three weeks its call handlers have seen a 25 per cent increase in 999 calls.

They're not alone - forces across the country are reporting the same pattern. Big music festivals can trigger a spike in accidental calls as we get all excited dancing about with the phone on. Another problem has been a change in software in some android mobile phones.

Ady caught up with Tom Fleming, the Performance and Operations Manager at Leicestershire Police.

This is the recent post from Leicester Police on Facebook:
"We're still seeing a rise in 'pocket dial’ 999 calls following recent Android phone changes – you can help by updating your phone when prompted, or turning the option off in your settings menu.
We’ve experienced an increase in accidental emergency 999 calls since a recent Android phone update which triggers an SOS when a button on the side of some phones is pressed five times.
In the past three weeks, our Contact Management Department have seen a 25% increase in calls of this nature, meaning hundreds of extra 999 calls per day. We take every 999 call extremely seriously, meaning if nobody responds when we answer, we work immediately to trace the call, to get in touch and ensure the caller is okay.
If your phone does make an accidental 999 call and we answer, don’t just hang up. Please stay on the line and tell us what has happened.
You can help us reduce demand into our phone lines so we can speak to those who really need us in an emergency. Please ensure your phones, particularly Samsung phones, have the latest updates."

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