An app that would allow people to phone police during emergency situations without having to utter a single word is being hailed as a potential lifesaver for domestic violence victims.
The Police, Fire and Ambulance app, being developed by transport dispatch expert Joel Eliades, will allow triple-0 dispatchers to pinpoint a user’s exact location during an emergency without having to speak to them.
The app has been pitched to governments across the country as a solution to long ambulance wait times and ramping issues.
But domestic violence survivor Anne-Marie told Daily Mail the app has the potential to save the lives of women under attack from violent men who can’t physically make a telephone call to emergency operators.
‘One partner I had was aggressive, so that (app) would have got me out of a lot of compromising positions, I’d say, where I couldn’t actually make a call to anyone,’ she said.
‘With my husband, with the other two, the same sort of thing – being in a car, like, so they can’t see what you’re doing. So, especially the last one, it would have helped me out immensely.’
Anne-Marie said it was often hard to make a phone call while in the middle of a violent altercation.
‘Because they ask, “What are you doing? What are you doing on your phone?” and I’d say, “Nothing, I was just looking on Facebook” or something like that,’ she said.
Transport dispatch expert Joel Eliades hopes to roll out the app, which is still in development, across the world
The revolutionary app would allow users to contact emergency services with the tap of a screen
‘So it covers you that way, where if you’re on a phone call, they’re going to hear that person talking to you. And then they’ll go, “Well, who are you on the phone to?” So they sort of drill you that way, which makes them angrier.’
The app also includes a callback function to ensure ongoing safety checks until the user confirms they’re safe, preventing abusers from dismissing police at the door.
Mr Eliades, who heads Transport Dispatch Solutions, said he came up with the idea for the app while running a rideshare company that utilised similar technology.
‘I obviously had to get used to all different dispatch systems. And in that, I’m like, what’s the biggest dispatcher in the world? It’s emergency services, which is across all countries,’ he said.
‘So, when I started digging into that, I’m like, there’s a hole in that market where there’s a product that’s going to facilitate helping people and the emergency services, whether it’s tracking vehicles, knowing which vehicles to send where, and all this sort of stuff to streamline processes.’
Mr Eliades was further inspired by his own personal history with emergency services.
‘I’ve had issues with medical incidents before where I ended up driving myself to the hospital with a broken back because I couldn’t be bothered dealing with a phone call to 000,’ he said.
‘But if I could have just pushed it through an app, I would have probably done it, just because it’s modernised, and that’s how I prefer to communicate with someone.’
Domestic violence victims could benefit from the app, which allows them to call police without having to speak
The app becomes more useful depending on the amount of data a user enters, with people encouraged to enter all of their medical conditions, such as allergies, blood types and any disabilities.
‘It’s probably in your best interest to put in more, but none of it’s compulsory because we know some people don’t want to share medical data,’ Mr Eliades said.
Anne-Marie said the app had the potential to save lives.
‘It’s a one button press sort of thing, and you’re going to have police there,’ she said.
‘It’s the best relief that you can have, you know, because people nowadays don’t help … If you’re in the street or in the car, they’re not going to stop to help you, whether you’re a female or whatever, they just don’t stop, so they just, you like sit in the dark.’
Mr Eliades said the app could also be used by police as evidence or in rescue operations should the worst happen.
The app records the last location should the user vanish without a trace.
It also helps when users have no idea where they actually are when they contact emergency operators.
The app would be used to call police, paramedics and firefighters
‘If you get beaten up and driven out to the bush and you don’t know your address or where you are, and it’s too hard for you to read the latitude or longitude … we know exactly where you are within three squared metres anywhere in the world,’ Mr Eliades said.
At present, rollout of the app remains in limbo as Mr Eliades lobbies governments at home and abroad to back it.
‘Realistically, $1million would get the whole thing built out,’ Mr Eliades said.
‘$5million would be the whole thing fully scaled, every language worldwide in it, and Australians would have support in any country they go to.’
With the app ready for its pilot stage, Mr Eliades and his team are seeking investors to bypass government delays.
