999 services must embrace texts and apps, says report
While technology has helped the UK's emergency services evolve, people in need are largely required to report incidents by calling 999. It's an adequate solution for the majority of cases, but if someone is the victim of a break-in, picking up the phone just isn't feasible. That's why the the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), the world's biggest professional engineering institution, is calling for some modernisation. It argues that in a world where smartphones, messaging apps and social media services are widespread, letting Brits text 999 in a time of need could save more lives by allowing for faster responses.
The proposed system would support a number of different apps, which pass on emergency messages to a human operator. It may also automatically scan texts for relevant information about that person, reducing the time it takes to identify them, or monitor for keywords like "SOS." Emergency services could also make better use of smartphone features. GPS technology can better pinpoint a person's location or identify the whereabouts of a stolen handset, while the camera would allow the operator to assess the threat to a victim. There are already a couple of services that let hard of hearing and speech-impaired people text 999, but the number of registered users is very small.
The IET will meet with representatives from the Government, BT, Ofcom and the mobile phone industry to discuss the best way to modernise the UK's police, ambulance and fire services' systems. Without a unified plan, it would be easy for forces to come up with their own platforms and inundate the public with too many options, or fail to update them altogether.
[Image credit: West Midlands Police, Flickr]
