Apple Watch emergency calls false positives slammed by UK police chiefs

AppleInsider

The Apple Watch has been blamed for a rise in calls to emergency services in the United Kingdom, police chiefs in the country have warned, caused by the various automatic-calling functions of the wearable device.

[Dom J/Pexels]

While features like Crash Detection and Fall Detection have been the source of stories where people have been saved from life-threatening situations, they can also be a burden on emergency services. On Monday, it was the UK's turn to complain about the automatic dialing function.

The National Police Chief's Council (NPCC) said the software functions of smart devices are having a "significant impact" on the amount of calls received by police forces in the country, reports the Telegraph.

The problem is the scale of false positives, caused by actions and activities that trick the Apple Watch into thinking an accident has happened. This has included roller coaster rides and working out by lifting weights, among other actions.

"Nationally, all emergency services are currently experiencing record high 999 call volumes," said the NPCC. "These silent calls' as they are named, are directed to police control rooms and the result has been a significant increase in silent calls."

According to Devon and Cornwall Police, it received 169 silent calls in one busy night, and that each silent call warranted 20 minutes of police time to investigate. BT also noted an increase in call volumes year-on-year, with daily call volumes in May just over 23% higher than one year prior.

In cases where the Apple Watch places the call by mistake, the NPCC urges the public to stay on the line and to tell the operator it was a false alarm, following previously issued advice from Apple.

"Calls to 999 where the operator cannot hear anyone on the line (silent calls) are never just ignored," the spokesperson said. "Call handlers will then need to spend valuable time trying to call you back to check whether you need help."

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sflagel

It would have been important to read what the percentage of false positives came from the Apple Watch and other manufacturer devices, since the police spend 20 minutes following up on each of these, they will know. 

gatorguy

sflagel said:

It would have been important to read what the percentage of false positives came from the Apple Watch and other manufacturer devices, since the police spend 20 minutes following up on each of these, they will know. 

The dispatch center doesn't catagorize the specific source of the call, so they wouldn't be able to report on those coming from an Apple watch as opposed to "other". FWIW the Apple Watch holds about 50% of the market share in the UK. Fitbit has approx 30% share, but they don't offer fall detection. That covers 80% of all smartwatches. Pixel Watch offers it, but they have a minuscule presence there.

No doubt some percentage of false positives are originating from "other", but based on market share it could not be too significant could it? Still, it is an issue for all the smartwatch manufacturers to continue trying to mitigate. 

40domi

The Police in the UK don't like answering any calls to do with real crime and emergencies.
They're too busy protecting woke ideologies 😡

inkling

There's an interesting legal angle to these false reports. I was working at a private event when the building's fire alarm went off. By the time the fire department arrived, the staff had discovered the cause. Someone had been cleaning the dust from ventilation ducts and mistook a duct for the smoke detector for one. His spray had tripped the alarm. The fire department found the building's owner responsible for that false alarm and charged them several hundred dollars. 

That raises an interesting question. Could Apple be held at fault when an Apple watch makes a false report of a fall or accident?

loopless

40domi said:

The Police in the UK don't like answering any calls to do with real crime and emergencies.
They're too busy protecting woke ideologies 😡

Yeah, doing a terrible job. The murder rate in the UK is 4 times less than the USA, and dropping. But don't let facts get in your way, Ron.

chasm

40domi said:

They're too busy protecting woke ideologies 😡

Oh? What do you define as “woke ideologies” that the police have embraced with such fervor that they can’t answer emergency calls?

I’d really, REALLY like to read your reply to this, Ron. Please do enlighten us.