New Anti-Crime App Aims for Three-Minute Police Response Time
The app is currently in its final phase of testing.
(SPOT.ph) An anti-crime app from the National Capital Region Police Office is coming with the goal of making city streets safer. Launched on January 16, the app will serve as a quick and straightforward way to report crime to the nearest police officers.
Dubbed the S.A.F.E. NCRPO APP, all it will take to relay an alert to the Tactical Operation Centers of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), and therefore the nearest police, is a single tap. The alert will go through the server if an Internet connection is available; for offline phones, the alert will go through SMS.
The app is not yet available for residents of the National Capital Region. For now, barangay halls have been registered to the app as part of the first phase, while schools, hospitals, churches, and entertainment hubs are being pulled in for the second phase. There are also future plans to connect the app to the 911 national hotline.
Real-time simulation exercises were used to test the efficiency of the app. Prank calls are an expected reality due to it being a mobile service, so the app is being fitted with preventive methods before being rolled out to the public, according to NCRPO App Alert project manager Lt. Col. Mark Foncardas in a report by the PNA.
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Police response time in three minutes or less
According to Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., the expected response time to the alert is three minutes or less for Metro Manila. This response can be in the form of police assistance or protection.
“This is just the NCRPO for now. It should be used by the entire Philippine National Police,” Abalos said in the report. “I hope the time will come when we can really spread this and I will suggest that it is not just Metro Manila but the entire Philippines to do this so that up to the very last root, the effect will be felt.”
The Philippine National Police (PNP) regional directors will be consulted and briefed on the use of the system when the app is finalized.
In the meantime, the NCRPO has partnered with PNP’s KASIMBAYANAN to provide a police alert hotline to barangay halls and religious institutions to keep communities safe in Metro Manila.
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