Published on the 05/09/2024 | Written by Heather Wright
Real-time access to scenes before they’ve even arrived…
New South Wales police are livestreaming unfolding triple-0 emergencies, using a ‘groundbreaking’ platform that enables callers to share video, GPS coordinates and other information, without downloading apps, to enable police to respond more effectively.
BluLink is powered by technology from GoodSam, a UK-based emergency and tasking platform, with the contract worth $6.3 million over three years. In New Zealand, GoodSam is used by St John Hone Hato ambulance to ‘crowdsource’ CPR, alerting GoodSam ‘responders’ within 1000 metres of cardiac arrest calls to the 111 emergency service.
“BluLink gives police unrivalled access to a scene before they’ve even arrived.”
BluLink enables emergency operators to send a text message with a link to triple-0 callers, who can then access the platform to share information, including instant GPS coordinates, streaming live video, and chat messaging, without needing to download an app.
Footage can be sent to responding officers so they can see what is happening prior to arriving at the scene, and footage can be stored with a date and time stamp to be used as evidence.
“The information will assist in the dispatch of appropriate resources by allowing police to better triage incidents, and potentially support subsequent investigations,” NSW Police says.
Chat messages can be translated into 150 languages.
More than 80 percent of calls to triple-0 are now made on mobile phones.
“BluLink is an innovative way in which further information can be provided to us during a triple zero call, which assists us in enhancing our policing response,” NSW Police commander of technology and communications services command, Assistant Commissioner Stacey Maloney says.
The system was trialled for 12 months across some metropolitan and regional commands, with NSW Police saying during the trial more than 700 live videos were streamed and more than 8,000 digital media files uploaded. It was used to find the locations of more than 60 missing bushwalkers and more than 100 high risk mission people.
Two teenage girls, threatened and ‘escorted’ to an abandoned house in March 2023 were located after a BluLink request was sent to one of the girls, pinpointing their exact location. The girls were rescued and two men were arrested at the scene.
Footage from a public shooting in Marrickville in July 2023, which saw two men injured, was uploaded to BluLink and shared with investigators as part of the trial.
Yasmin Catley, Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism, says BluLink provides police and emergency dispatchers with instant, real-time access to unfolding emergencies.
“Police rely on members of the community to accurately describe an incident so they know what they’re dealing with and what they need to respond. BluLink gives them unrivalled access to a scene before they’ve even arrived,” Catley says.
GoodSam claims nearly 75 percent of UK police services are now using its offering. Not all are using it in the same way as NSW Police, however, with some simply using it for remote video consultations.
London Ambulance Service also use GoodSam to locate and visualise scenes and patients.
A 2022 research article in the Cambridge Journal of Evidence-based Policing, found using video links in domestic abuse cases resulted in faster responses, 50 percent higher arrest rates and higher victim satisfaction.
The NSW Government says BluLink is the first step in the NSW Police Force’s digital policing roadmap to deliver cutting-edge technology capabilities.
