Mass sanctions for abuse of the National Emergency Call System 112

The "Administrative Penalty Activity" department in the "National 112 System" Directorate at the Ministry of Interior has sanctioned a total of 131 citizens who submitted false signals and jokes to the 112 telephone number in the period October 2024 - April 2025. Fines of 200 levs were imposed on 52 people who used the emergency phone number for unintended purposes. 11 submitters of malicious signals, to which emergency response services were not mobilized, were sanctioned with fines of 2,000 levs. The highest fines of 10,000 levs were received by 24 citizens for false distress signals, to which emergency response services were dispatched. 17 students who joked or submitted false signals to the emergency phone number were referred to local commissions for combating antisocial behavior of minors and underage individuals for the initiation of educational proceedings. A student from Varbitsa, Shumen region, was punished with 40 hours of community service for submitting a false and misleading signal. A total of 276 administrative penalty proceedings were initiated, 88 penalty decrees and 43 agreements were issued. False distress signals in 2024 increased by 20% compared to 2023.