More than 112 Million Calls Received to the 17 Emergency Call Center in Istanbul Last Year

More than 112 million calls were received to the 17 Emergency Call Center in Istanbul last year. More than half of the reports made to 112 were unfounded. 112 percent of 2022 million 17 thousand 353 calls received by the Istanbul 424 Emergency Call Center in 68,12 were unfounded notices.

According to the information received from the Istanbul 112 Emergency Call Center Directorate, 2022 million 17 thousand 353 calls came to the call center in 424. While 5 million 531 thousand 423 of these turned into cases, the number of calls that did not turn into cases became 11 million 822 thousand 1. Thus, 31,88 percent of incoming calls turned into cases, while 68,12 percent were unfounded.

Making an evaluation about the calls, Feyza Emin, Manager of the Istanbul 112 Emergency Call Center, stated that in 2022, the emergency call centers are performing their duties intensively.

Stating that 112 institutions work in the 7 Emergency Call Center under the roof of our Ministry, Emin noted that one or more institutions can be coordinated if necessary in line with the notifications.

“They Call for Various Reasons Except for Emergencies”

Underlining that most of the calls are made up of unfounded denunciations, Feyza Emin said: “There are repeated calls in false calls, and there are also calls that are closed while listening to the announcement. These are probably for testing purposes. They are also referred to as false calls. If our foreign citizens only have their phones working or not, when they insert a sim card, children's calls, our elderly citizens call and get some sohbet wanting to do it, phone perverts, and calling the same thing over and over, although it doesn't really matter. Apart from that, 'Where can we pay electricity, water, natural gas bills?' in that style or going to the military 'How many days do I have left, where can I ask?', related to the Ministry of National Education 'Can you tell me where that school is?' or health-related 'Where can I apply as an appointment hotline?'... A call came in today, she was arguing with her neighbor 'What can I do, where can I apply?' Also, where can I throw the thermometer broken at home? In this way, they also make false calls.”

Expressing that 1500 personnel work in the call center, Emin stated that the citizens are served on a 24-hour basis without interruption.

“Maybe Ambulance, Police Couldn't Get There In A Few Seconds”

Stating that the 112 Emergency Call Center was unnecessarily busy due to unfounded calls, Feyza Emin explained that this situation can cause delays in cases where even seconds matter. Emin called on the citizens to be sensitive about this issue and said, “A little common sense is needed. Because it causes loss of life and property of citizens. In a few seconds, maybe the ambulance and the police couldn't get there. So he's struggling with seconds." he said.

Feyza Emin emphasized that various trainings were given from time to time in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior in order not to lose the motivation of the personnel who received the call due to the high number of unfounded calls. Noting that unnecessary calls create an additional workload, Emin said that the systems used are regularly updated in order to provide better service to the citizens.

Emphasizing that citizens should call 112 for emergencies, Feyza Emin said, "Please don't call them as soon as possible for things like unnecessary information and consultation, or whether the line is working or not, for testing purposes." said.