By: Kat Jeffery
In today’s fast-moving world, control rooms face a persistent and growing challenge: hoax 999 calls. These misuse vital resources across the Police, Fire and Ambulance services. For mission critical control rooms, the consequences are significant – impacting response times, operational efficiency and ultimately public safety.
The emergency number 999 remains the primary line for life-threatening incidents. However, misuse of this critical service continues to place avoidable pressure on operators and on control room software systems designed for genuine emergencies.
The most recently published figures show that one police force recorded 2,765 hoax 999 calls in a single year, with more than 1,300 additional incidents recorded in the following six-month period. Another force logged over 600 hoax incidents in just the first half of a year, highlighting how widespread the issue remains.
At the same time, answering performance varies across services. In the Metropolitan Police Service, 83.5 % of 999 calls were answered within ten seconds, while 13.8 % took between 10 and 60 seconds. When control rooms are required to manage multiple hoax or malicious calls alongside genuine emergencies, valuable seconds and sometimes minutes can be lost. In a mission critical environment, those delays matter.
Alongside traditional prank or malicious calls, control rooms are also seeing misuse through digital channels, including spoofed numbers and inappropriate online contact. These additional pathways further increase demand on emergency call handling systems and add complexity to triage and dispatch workflows.
Hoax calls flood control room workflows. They clog call handling interfaces, force call handlers to spend time on non-emergencies, and degrade the efficiency of emergency call handling systems, control room software and integrated command and control systems (ICCS).
Every hoax call processed through a computer aided dispatch (CAD) system risks diverting attention and resources away from genuine incidents. Dispatchers may need to assess false information, clear queues or briefly allocate assets, all of which can delay responses to life threatening situations.
Modern solutions are designed for speed, clarity and integration. But while technology can mitigate the impact, it cannot eliminate the root cause: misuse of the 999 service. When hoax calls go unchecked, service levels suffer and the entire command, control and communications workflow is compromised.
Reducing hoax 999 calls requires a balanced approach that combines strong operational discipline with advanced control room software.
Call handlers must follow clear protocols; verifying caller details, confirming incident information and escalating suspicious calls appropriately. Public education also plays a vital role. Campaigns such as Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s “It’s No Joke to Hoax” initiative continue to highlight the real world consequences of prank calls, particularly among younger audiences. These campaigns reinforce a simple message: misuse of 999 can prevent someone else from receiving urgent help when they need it most.
The right emergency services software can significantly reduce the operational impact of hoax calls. Zetron’s 999 call handling solution provides operators with intuitive interfaces, rapid call routing and immediate access to relevant call history — helping identify repeat misuse and prioritise genuine emergencies.
Zetron’s ICCS platform supports interoperability across Police, Fire and Ambulance services, a critical capability when hoax incidents intersect with wider operational activity. Meanwhile, Zetron CAD ensures seamless coordination of personnel and assets, supporting accurate dispatch decisions even during periods of high demand.
Together, these solutions deliver an integrated communication control system that enhances situational awareness, improves response times and supports the ongoing evolution of next generation 999 systems already in use across emergency services.
An integrated control room environment delivers measurable benefits:
- Faster call triage: Improved call handling workflows help prioritise genuine emergencies and reduce delays caused by processing hoax calls.
- Enhanced interoperability: Control room software that supports TETRA and P25 interoperability enables agencies to coordinate efficiently, even when hoax incidents trigger wider operational involvement.
- Better analytics: Modern control room software captures detailed data; including repeat numbers, time of day trends and incident patterns — helping managers identify misuse early and support more predictive planning.
- Cloud-based resilience: Cloud-based command and control software helps maintain availability during spikes in call volume, infrastructure disruption or major incidents.
Emergency services continue to operate under sustained pressure. Call volumes remain high, resources are constrained and public expectations for rapid response continue to rise. As integrated command and control systems mature, demand for control room integration software and public safety command and control software continues to grow.
Services increasingly require solutions that support multi-agency operations, not just single-service responses, within a mission critical communications environment. Investing in modern emergency control room software is essential to protecting the public, reducing operational risk and ensuring control rooms remain focused on genuine emergencies rather than avoidable distractions.
- Audit hoax call volume: Use incident recording and CAD systems to identify peak periods, repeat offenders and misuse trends.
- Review operator training: Ensure call handlers are equipped to recognise and appropriately route hoax and malicious calls.
- Upgrade systems: Assess whether control room software supports cloud-based call handling, interoperable communications, CAD integration and analytics dashboards.
- Educate the public: Work with Police, Fire and Ambulance partners to reinforce responsible use of 999.
- Leverage analytics: Use dispatch and call data to identify hotspots and proactively plan resources.
Hoax 999 calls may seem trivial to the caller, but to a mission critical control room they are anything but. Every second spent managing a malicious or prank call is a second not spent responding to someone in genuine need.
By combining strong operational protocols with advanced control room software, emergency services can minimise the impact of hoax calls and strengthen their ability to respond when it matters most. With solutions such as, Cortex and Zetron CAD, control rooms are equipped to meet modern public safety demands — integrating call handling, dispatch and communications into one resilient, efficient ecosystem.
It is time to continue turning the tide: reduce misuse, protect genuine emergencies and ensure every 999 call truly counts.
Sources:
- Office for National Statistics – Crime in England and Wales: satisfaction with 999 and 101 calls, year ending March 2024.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/adhocs/2210crimeinenglandandwalessatisfactionwith999and101callsyearendingmarch2024 - North Yorkshire Police – FOI 0733-2024/25, Hoax 999 calls (2019–30 June 2024).
https://www.northyorkshire.police.uk/foi-ai/north-yorkshire-police/foi-disclosure-2021-22/november-2024/foi-0733-202425–hoax-999-calls - West Yorkshire Police – FOI 2297758-24, Emergency Service Hoax Incidents via 999 (2019–30 June 2024).
https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/freedom-of-information/november-2024-foi-2297758-24-emergency-service-hoax-incidents-999 - Police.uk – 999 performance data for the Metropolitan Police Service.
https://www.police.uk/pu/your-area/metropolitan-police-service/performance/999-performance-data/ - Cambridgeshire Constabulary – “It’s No Joke to Hoax” campaign page.
https://www.cambs.police.uk/police-forces/cambridgeshire-constabulary/areas/campaigns/campaigns/its-no-joke-to-hoax - Home Office – Police call demand and emergency contact trends, latest published analysis.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/policing-statistics
