Only 74,380 out of the 384,793 telephone calls made to the emergency number 112 were actual emergencies, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said on Thursday. 

In a press conference on the day dedicated to the emergency number 112 – the 11 February (11/2) – Camilleri said that it is important for people to use this number responsibly, as it could be a matter of life or death if it is not. 

Throughout 2020, the 112 control room received a total of 384,793 telelphone calls – however there were over 200,000 calls which should not have been done on the 112 number, as they were either trick calls or cases which had no relevance. 

This means that only 74,380 of the calls – equivalent to 19.33% of them – were actual emergency cases. 

74.3% of those calls were passed on to the ambulance service as they were emergencies of a medical nature, while another 14.6% of them went to the police force and another 11% to the Civil Protection Department. 

There were circumstances where the help of the Armed Forces of Malta was also requested. 

In his message, Camilleri explained that the government is continually investing money to make sure that disciplined forces can answer emergency calls in the most effective manner possible. 

He appealed again for the public to use the emergency number responsibly. 

“This was a pandemic year where our medical services and enforcement services were under unprecedented pressure. So let’s come together to pull one rope and be responsible, as not every circumstance is an emergency”, he concluded.