Just tap the screen: Police discreetly rescue callers reporting dating violence

A police officer who received a silent emergency call recognized that the caller was in danger and guided her to use nonverbal signals to request help, according to the National Police Agency.

On Tuesday, the NPA released a video highlighting a recent case handled by the Jeju Provincial Police Agency, in which a victim of dating violence called the 112 emergency hotline but was unable to speak.

Senior Patrol Officer Kim Hye-jin, who responded to the call, suspected a foul play and told the caller to tap on the speaker of the phone twice if it is a dangerous situation. Kim then tracked down the call's location and asked the caller to confirm a dangerous situation by tapping on the buttons, to which she frantically tapped on the phone's buttons and hung up the phone.

"A subsequent call confirmed a dating violence case, with the caller having fought with her boyfriend, and (police) swiftly arrived on the scene," Kim said, adding that she designated the case as the top-propriety code zero emergency case after the initial call.

The victim was safely escorted back to her family.

Kim said Jeju police do not gloss over nonresponsive emergency calls and can use various ways to figure out the situation, urging for the public to make the call in case of emergency.

The NPA in 2022 launched a "Tap Tap Campaign" encouraging callers, who may not be able to verbally communicate, to notify the emergency responders with nonverbal means such as by pressing the buttons on the phone. Responding officials can then send a text message with a hyperlink, which the caller can click on to send one's location and send the videos shot via one's phone.