GEORGIA, — After a social media post went viral telling people to contact 999 and press 55 for emergency services when you're unable to speak, and that police will be dispatched to you, a viewer reached out to VERIFY.
THE QUESTION
Is it true that you can dial 999 and then press 55 to receive emergency help when you are unable to speak?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
Only in the United Kingdom. The 999 and press 55 system is a silent call procedure in the UK to be transferred directly to the police when you are unable to speak. But this does not work in the United States, as 911 is the emergency number, and there is no national silent call number.
Here in the US, there is no national silent help protocol. But here in Georgia, there is a way to get help without speaking -- 33 county and city E-911 centers offer a text or 911 option that includes 19 agencies right here in metro Atlanta, according to the FCC.
If you are in an area that doesn't have the text 911 option, you'll get a bounce back message letting you know that.
The FCC has a list of call centers that currently offer the text-to-911 service on their website. The current voice-based 911 service is still the most reliable and preferred contact. You can download that list by clicking this link.
The Federal Communications Commission says you should “always contact 911 by making a voice call, if you can.”
Georgia list
Here are the jurisdictions with text-to-911 jurisdictions in Georgia:
- Fort Moore (previously Fort Benning) Military Police Department
- Decatur Police Department
- Clayton County E-911
- Dodge-Wilcox 911
- Wiregrass E-911 (McIntosh County)
- Polk County 911
- Henry County E-911
- Madison County Public Safety
- City of Conyers
- Dallas Police Department
- Emanuel County
- Union County 911
- Oglethorpe County 911
- Cherokee County E-911
- Barrow County 911
- Baldwin County Sheriff's Office
- Camden County E-911
- Lowndes County 911
- Scott County Emergency Communications Center
- Newton County E-911
- Hall County 911
- Gwinnett County E-911
- Fort Stewart 911
- Jefferson County E-911
- Forsyth County 911
- Oconee County Sheriff's Office
- Fulton County Emergency Communications
- Augusta-Richmond County 911
- City of Smyrna 911
- City of Atlanta 911
- Coweta County E-911
- Floyd County E-911
- Paulding County 911
- Alpharetta Command and Control Center