Dunedin police take part in trial

Constable Jo Ammundsen is one of 15 Dunedin police officers testing  new personal safety devices....
Constable Jo Ammundsen is one of 15 Dunedin police officers testing new personal safety devices. Photo by Jane Dawber.
Police officers may have a new way of calling for help, thanks to a trial under way in Dunedin.

Two different types of personal safety devices were being tested by 15 officers in the city, as well as by their counterparts in Tokoroa, Police Communications Centres national manager Superintendent Andy McGregor said.

The devices work on the 3G network and send a signal to the Communication Centre when activated, providing an exact location via a global positioning system (GPS) and alerting staff that an officer needed help.

The devices will give officers using the analogue radio network another way of calling for help when some of the old technology is decommissioned at the end of the month.

The current technology for officers needing help had been in place since 1999, and had reached the end of its life, he said.

"It wasn't widely used by staff, who generally prefer to use the police radio if they encounter trouble, but it did provide a back-up option, so we need to find a contemporary replacement for those staff still using the analogue network."

Supt McGregor said officer safety was a priority for police, and feedback from staff had been positive.

"Staff have told us they like the added security of having another way of requesting urgent help."

The alarms will not be used in Waitemata, Auckland, Counties Manukau, Wellington and Canterbury, as the new digital radio network in those police districts has officer-safety features built in, he said.

Dunedin was chosen for the trial because its terrain caused some issues with radio coverage, and as a South Island metropolitan city, it provided police with a comparison with the provincial North Island town of Tokoroa.

The trial is expected to finish in the middle of April.

If police decided to proceed, the devices would be issued to around 1500 frontline officers in the Southern, Tasman, Central, Eastern, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Northland police districts.

- hamish.mcneilly@odt.co.nz

 

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