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A police call handler’s quick thinking led to officers being sent to a woman’s home – despite her being too terrified to ask for help out loud.
In a clip of the call, 999 operator Pippa Harvey can be heard calmly leading the woman through several yes or no questions to gauge what kind of danger she was in.
After being asked what the emergency was, the woman said ‘pizza delivery’, prompting Ms Harvey to quickly give her a safe way to clarify by checking: ‘Do you require pizza delivery or do you require the police? If it’s the police say yes.’
She then maintained the charade to check whether the woman or her children, at least one of whom can be heard crying in the background, and send officers to her address.
‘If he threatened to hurt you, tell me pepperoni. If he threatened to hurt the children, tell me cheese,’ Ms Harvey said.
Speaking barely above a whisper, the woman replied: ‘Pepperoni.’
Ms Harvey then reassured her help was on the way before ending the call in case it looked ‘suspicious if you are calling for a pizza’.
999-55 is a potentially life-saving domestic abuse lifeline for victims who are too frightened to speak out loud (Picture: Getty Images)
The rookie officer has since been commended for her quick thinking.
Sharing the clip, the Metropolitan Police urged anyone in danger to call 999 and ask for help, even by whispering.
Anyone unable to speak out loud should then press 55, which allows the operator to track the call and send help even when you are unable to audibly summon it.
A survey by Women’s Aid late last year revealed 53% of women and 49% of all Brits are unaware of the 999-55 emergency line.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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