How can one be so heartless: 70 percent of 307 thousand calls made for emergency help turned out to be fake
Since January 1, 2024, approximately 69 percent of the 307 thousand calls received by the Elazığ 112 Emergency Call Center did not result in an incident and were recorded as unnecessary calls. It was learned that some citizens were occupying the center by calling for issues such as water malfunctions and hospital appointments.
İHA
The 112 Emergency Call Center, established by the Ministry of Interior to consolidate emergency calls into a single center, began serving in its new building in Elazığ after its construction was completed approximately 4 years ago. The 112 Emergency Call Center handled 307 thousand calls between January 1, 2024, and the end of the 6th month. While it was stated that 94 thousand 671 of these calls were actual incidents, it was reported that 213 thousand 243 calls did not turn into incidents and were unnecessary.
An administrative fine was imposed under the Misdemeanors Law on 1 person who disturbed the 112 Emergency Call Center. It was learned that some of those who called the call center unnecessarily made strange requests such as, 'I have a water malfunction, can you help?'
Stating that 307 thousand calls had come to the Elazığ 112 Emergency Call Center as of the end of the 6th month of 2024, Elazığ 112 Emergency Call Center Manager Ahmet Erdem said, “While 69 percent of these 307 thousand calls were unfounded, the remaining 31 percent were calls that turned into incidents. The rates of unfounded calls are really challenging us. We want to warn our citizens about this again. Especially, they should not give phones to children or call us unnecessarily. Because at that moment, more serious events can occur. We are racing against seconds here. Therefore, we want our citizens to be more sensitive about this issue. An administrative fine was applied to one person who disturbed 112 with unfounded calls. We first warn our citizens in writing, and then an administrative fine is applied. Compared to last year, there is not a huge increase in the number of our unfounded reports, but there is an increase in general. Our citizens need to be a little more sensitive about unfounded reports. More calls come to our health and security units. Health is 46 percent, security is 42 percent, and due to the high number of fires in the summer months, more reports have started to come to our fire department teams. Due to this, the rate for the fire department is 7 percent, and the reports coming to our gendarmerie teams are at a rate of 6 percent. They call us for unnecessary calls such as water malfunctions and hospital appointments. Our citizens need to be a little more sensitive about this. The more they occupy 112, the worse it is for us”.