CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS. This is an alert no one, parent or police, want to see but it does happen and when it does, rapid dissemination of critical information is vital to a successful resolution. The key piece of information officers need is a description of the child and a photograph is always going to be more effective than a verbal description. In a recent research by IMS and Motorola Solutions the use of digital photography in frontline policing was explored and found to be a key capability in improving safety and driving efficiency.

“The first hours are critical when looking for missing children. Officers consistently told researchers that having fast access to a photo of the child is invaluable. Teams also mentioned time and again that a good photo is far superior to voice descriptions from dispatchers. An example was given of a call-out for a suspect, such as a 180cm tall, Caucasian male with dark hair and wearing jeans and a black top – a description that could match a number of people on any street. But when working with a picture, the search is far more likely to be successful. Indeed, an officer working in London said: “It would be fantastic to receive instant images to verify missing people or suspects.”

The ability to take, send and receive images from your phone has long been a standard feature of consumer mobile devices. In emergency telecommunications, however, this capability is yet to see widespread adoption. The IMS and Motorola Solutions research looks at this issue and starts to identify specific benefits and applications for photography along with identifying some of the barriers that are slowing the uptake.

To read more of the research relating to the use of image capture in critical communications you can download the report ‘The Need and Case for Digital Photography in Frontline Policing’.

David Parry is Director, Solutions Marketing EMEA. David is on LinkedIn at uk.linkedin.com/in/davidgparry

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