GoodSAM has been trialled by Bedfordshire Police, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and Hertfordshire constabulary for several months now.
The GoodSAM ‘Instant-On-Scene’ system allows members of the public to stream live video and share their precise location with the control rooms.
This function is achieved through a mobile device without needing an app.
GoodSAM has been credited with saving many lives and hundreds of hours of police officers’ time.
GoodSAM ‘Instant-On-Scene’ Feature
The platform also provides the emergency services with other capabilities.
These capabilities include the ability for officers to live stream video from their phones into the control room and to colleagues.
GoodSAM ‘Instant-on-scene’ also integrates with drones, allowing live aerial video to be viewed immediately by officers who are dealing with an incident on the ground.
A ‘consultation’ feature also allows police officers to invite members of the public to a multi-way video call.
This function is used in situations where it might not be appropriate to visit someone in person.
GoodSAM has been used by Bedfordshire Police, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and Hertfordshire constabulary’s’ control rooms on more than 3,000 occasions.
The system is now in use across multiple areas of the organisations, including being used by more than 2,500 front line officers, PCSO’s and Scenes of Crime officers.
Saving Lives
Inspector Chris Hutton from the BCH Police Digital Innovation Team said:
“Our use of this technology is about improving the service we can provide.
“The platform has been a resounding success across BCH and has been used in some hugely innovative ways.
“We can directly attribute it to locating and saving the lives of some particularly vulnerable individuals some of whom had made significant attempts to harm themselves, and we have been able to use live video with 999 callers such as during the aftermath of a stabbing.
“Feedback from officers, police staff and the public has been fantastic, and we quickly determined that this is a vitally important capability for policing.
“Being able to video triage an incident at the point of call and accurately locate the caller means we can ensure we send the right resources to the right location.
“As we navigate through the global COVID-19 pandemic, GoodSAM allows us to harness the power of technology to work in a smart, efficient and effective way.”
Callers who dial 999 have to give consent to GoodSAM.
This requirement for consent, together with rigorous risk assessments, ensures that no-one is ever placed at increased risk by sharing video footage.
Professor Mark Wilson OBE, of GoodSAM, says:
“The GoodSAM system is all about saving lives with technology. Additionally, by improving resource efficiency it means that specialist resources can be deployed where they are needed.”
Mr Ali Ghorbangholi OBE, of GoodSAM adds:
”We passionately believe we can use technology to radically improve policing and care for the public.”
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