Mysore/Mysuru: City Police have clocked one of the best response times to distress calls and the average time taken by the emergency rescue teams to reach a place is just 10 minutes. ‘112’ teams have responded to 21,227 emergency calls in two years and have saved human lives and properties.

‘112’ is a one-stop-shop solution to all emergency situations on the lines of ‘911’ in the United States of America. Be it the telephone line or the app, they are an all-in-one application that can be used to raise an SOS alert in any emergency — be it medical, fire, Police or something else.

The system has been developed as part of Government of India’s Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) initiative, whose main agenda is to make the required support readily available to citizens in need. There are 20 vehicles dedicated to ‘112’ services in city and the teams function 24×7. The staff take duties on rotation. There are no holidays and usually, the 20 vehicles are on rounds in different areas. No vehicle is concentrated in a single area and the vehicle route coverage extends to the length and breadth of the city Police Commissionerate.

One Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) and one cop will always be present in the vehicle and they are constantly on the rounds. The service goes a long way in improving the safety of citizens.

No jurisdictional barriers

These 20 emergency vehicles do not have any boundaries as dictated by Police jurisdictions and all the instructions are passed directly to the teams from the City Police Commissioner’s Office.

As soon as someone calls 112, the teams reach there in 10 minutes and speak to the distressed person or the family. If it is a fire incident, the fire brigade is summoned and if the nature of the emergency is hospitalisation, the victims will be shifted to hospitals immediately.

If the nature of the call is to resolve disputes, the matter is settled on the spot after discussion with the aggrieved parties. If the dispute persists and if the warring parties do not come to a settlement, then the jurisdictional Police would be involved and at the same time, the caller is informed too about the development.

Control Room control

The calls to 112 are received by Control Room staff who first assess the nature of the complaint and then the emergency response teams in the locality would be intimated. The caller is identified through GPS location and even if the caller is unable to speak due to the emergency, his location is traced and help is ensured.

As soon as a call is received at the Control Room, the call is traced through the GPS location and the logbooks are entered on the nature of the emergency, time of the call, the caller identity if established and other details and alerts are issued to the respective 112 vehicles. These logbooks are properly documented and are submitted for review by senior Police officers.

Systems have been set up in all the 20 vehicles too to receive messages, summon for more forces or other emergency services. The vehicle movements are tracked through GPS and there is a constant communication between the Control Room and the personnel in the vehicle.

User-friendly 112 app

The 112 app is available on both Android and iOS platforms. To use the app, users need to register themselves using their phone number and OTP. Also, the app only asks for necessary information such as name, age and location details if a user wants to register as a volunteer. In addition to this, it also asks users to enter some emergency contact details to notify that person in case of any emergency.

The app’s functionality is pretty simple and straightforward. It automatically sends a user’s details such as name, age, emergency contact and location to the local emergency service delivery departments and to nearby volunteers. Along with this, it also generates an automated call to 112 — the State Emergency Control Room — and also notifies the person’s emergency contact.

Just tap the button on phone

112 features a simple-to-use interface with no fancy elements. It has buttons for 4 major emergency alert (panic alert) options — fire, medical, police and other — placed at the bottom of the app and a Google Map with a pin to pinpoint the location of the user.

All four options have a single tap command execution, which means users just need to tap on the button and the app knows what to do. Once the panic alert is pressed on the app, the location is traced and the user gets a call. Even if the user is unable to attend the call, emergency teams will reach his/ her place based on the location details.

There are other options in the app, such as Volunteer and Emergency Inbox that help users track the progress of the incident and emergency services delivered. The emergency service cell can also be reached through https://ka.erss.in/ website and those in distress can e-mail [email protected]

Good response from women

Every day, we get over 50 to 55 calls. There is a good response from women as they call during emergencies and when there is a fight in the neighbourhood. Generally, fights build up and lead to crimes and these women have helped the Police to quell the fight in the initial stage itself. We ensure that we reach the distress callers within 10 minutes. Our personnel are sensitive and empathetic towards the caller. — Pradeep Gunti, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order)