When you need an emergency service like the police, the fire department, or the ambulance, you will need to call a hotline for it. This is how it has been for the past few decades, and it is how it is at the moment. However according to a report from the Institution of Engineering and Technology, perhaps emergency services should start getting with the times.
This means that instead of relying on and waiting for calls to come through, emergency services should also look towards social media where there might be users calling out for help. For example sometimes it might not be possible to make a call to the police discreetly, so posting on social media could be an alternative.
It will also allow emergency services to better locate the person in need to help, thanks to the use of GPS. It has been suggested that a system be used for these sorts of tools since it will be able to scan messages to pick up on certain keywords or phrases to help assess the situation to determine whether or not their services are needed.
According to Professor Will Stewart who is the chair of the IET’s Communications Policy Panel, “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.” It is an interesting notion but what do you guys think?