08.07.15
Call to radically revamp 999 services for smartphone technology
Radical changes should be made to the emergency 999 call service to reflect the ‘digital age’, where more people are communicating by text or social media, a new report has said.
Launched by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), the study argues that in a world where smartphones, text and social media are becoming the norm, creating a new cross-platform, data-based emergency service with a standard interface for consumers should be a priority.
Professor Will Stewart, chair of the IET’s Communications Policy Panel, said that communications has changed drastically since the 999 service was designed in 1937 – “so there is a critical need to update the service”.
It was suggested that a data-based emergency service would allow people to text alerts via any appropriate app on a chosen easy-to-remember special number, such as 999 – and these alerts would then be passed to the human emergency operator.
Prof Stewart added: “Ofcom figures show, for example, that 94% of communications from 12-15 year olds is text based. Given that young people are statistically more likely to be victims of crime or accidents, it is a concern that making a voice call to contact the emergency services is not something that would feel natural to them.
“Much of the technology we need to update our emergency service is available today. But we need a shared, cross-party strategy to create a common and user-friendly interface for all service providers to connect to – and one that the general public will be happy to use.”
Superintendent Mark Nottage, who works on the Emergency Services Mobile Communication Programme at the Home Office, agrees with the principle.
“Many people, particularly young people, are using a range of social media applications to communicate, and many rarely make voice calls in their daily lives,” he said. “This means that we need to adapt and be responsive to ensure that when people need to contact the emergency services or other public services they can quickly access the right information and the most appropriate service first time, and in the way that they choose and are familiar with.”
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