Mobile Tower triangulation has been used by the authorities since the inception of GSM communications
Police
have used a world-first tool twice this week to find people reported
missing by tracking the location information on their phones.
The
new technology, the Device Location Information (DLI) service, can be
used by emergency services to locate the mobile phone of a person who
has not called 111 themselves but for whom there are fears for their
health or safety.
The technology, launched last week,
made it faster for police to narrow the search area for people who were
unable or unwilling to say where they were, in circumstances where it
was necessary to prevent or lessen a serious threat to the life or
health of the person concerned or another individual.
The DLI capability was announced by Minister of Police Mark Mitchell last Friday.
Police
Northern Emergency Communications and Dispatch Centre manager,
Inspector Dan Weir, said police received a report of a person with an
intellectual disability missing from their home in Matamata on Thursday
night.
“The person hadn’t been seen for 30 minutes and had left
their Wandatrak at home; it was raining and the person’s family were
becoming increasingly worried.”
Weir said the decision was made to allow the DLI service to be used, sending officers to the person’s location at a nearby park.
“The person was returned home 37 minutes after being reported missing, which is an incredible result.
“When every second counts, this service is yet another tool to help our teams get people the help they need to keep them safe.
“One
of the most stressful parts of our job is trying to find out where
people are when they’re distressed and in need of help but can’t tell us
or don’t know where they are, or equally if someone is reporting a
loved one missing and doesn’t know where they could be.”
The DLI service delivers an improvement on the previous
capability, which meant manual requests had to be made to mobile network
operators to try to locate a device.
“Earlier in the week the service was used to assist in locating a person whose family had immediate concerns for their welfare.
“The
person was found after being involved in a single-vehicle crash in
Piha, thankfully uninjured, and was able to get the help they needed.
“Time can often be the difference between life and death and we’re thrilled to have access to this service.”
Last week Hato Hone St John chief executive Peter Bradley welcomed the new emergency services resource.
“This is a vital tool that will help emergency services respond faster when every second counts,” Bradley said.
“The
ability to quickly locate a person whose life or health is at serious
risk but unable to call for help can mean the difference between life
and death.
“Crucially, this new capability highlights the value of collaboration between emergency service agencies.
“By
working together and leveraging shared technology, we can deliver a
faster, more accurate medical response to people when they need it,
wherever they may be.”
