Livestreaming unfolding emergencies directly to police is now possible in New South Wales using an innovative technology system.
The statewide rollout of BluLink allows triple zero callers to provide police with GPS coordinates, live video streaming, digital media uploads and text messages via a link sent to them from emergency dispatchers.
The internet-based media platform can be used to help police confirm the exact location of an emergency and for the public to send live vision to police of incidents as they unfold.
The information will help emergency services dispatch the appropriate resources by allowing police to better triage incidents and potentially support subsequent investigations.
About four in five triple-zero calls come from mobile phones. BluLink has already helped in more than 8,000 incidents during a year-long trial and was used by investigators to collect and sort through footage of the mass stabbing at Bondi Junction in April.
In another case, two teenage brothers lost in the Blue Mountains after crashing their trail bikes were rescued 45 minutes after sending their location in an area with poor reception.
“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’s assistant commissioner, Stacey Maloney, said on Sunday.
It comes three years since the national rollout of advanced mobile location technology allowing Android and Apple phones to automatically send location data to triple zero dispatchers.
In a function long demanded by the public, callers can switch to text messaging through BluLink where voice calls are challenging.
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These chat messages can be translated into 150 different languages and, as the platform is not an app, there is no need to download anything beforehand. Nor will it be used for every triple-zero call or be forced on callers.
The NSW police minister, Yasmin Catley, said officers rely on the public to accurately describe an incident so they know what they are dealing with and how they need to respond. “BluLink gives them unrivalled access to a scene before they’ve even arrived,” she said.
The service’s operator, the UK-based GoodSAM, is being paid $6.3m over four years, according to a contract notice. The system has been used by New Zealand paramedics, UK police and US firefighters, with GoodSAM claiming the San Antonio fire department saved US$7.6m during one year of use.
