At KOVA, we’re strong believers in the power of technology to make people and cities safer. Over the years, we’ve worked with countless agencies and public safety answering points (PSAPs) to implement tools like KEANS Services, an emergency notification system, and Verint Media Recorder for Public Safety.
One type of technology that’s having a major impact on public safety is mobile apps. Here’s a list of just a few that are making differences for everyone from first responders to citizens.
See Send
This app by My Mobile Witness takes the old mantra “See Something, Say Something” into the digital age. Anyone who downloads the app can securely send pictures and report suspicious activity to state centers run by police and the Department of Homeland Security.
All photos and tips are geotagged, so that they’re routed to the closest security center. This allows police and other public safety personnel to not only receive more tips from the public, but also create specific public alert messages to go out in a geographic area.
SilentPartner
Developed by KOVA Corp., Silent Partner is a mobile recording app for police officers, public safety officials, and anyone else who needs to gather data in the field, away from the office.
SilentPartner turns your smartphone into a secure mobile recording device, allowing users to capture any and all data that their phone can capture, from photos to videos to sound. They they can instantly tag or label that data for easy retrieval later, and then immediately and securely transmit that data to their home office database.
Advanced features of the SilentPartner system include Speech Analytics, which allows software to “listen” to the content of all of your calls. Trends within those calls are then automatically reported, which can help uncover commonalities between cases thought to be unrelated.
This is especially useful for detective bureaus that exist across multiple precincts, because it allows investigators to easily find linked cases. Rough transcription of calls, keyword and phrase searches, and indexing of communications are also options available with SilentPartner.
Mobile Patrol
Mobile Patrol is a public communication app that allows public safety officials and law enforcement to connect directly with their communities. Public safety agencies can use Mobile Patrol to let citizens see lists of recent bookings into detention facilities, release alerts about their most wanted lists or area sex offenders, or offer general safety information.
On the citizen side, Mobile Patrol users can not only access all of this information, but they can also submit crime tips or report a sighting of a person on the most wanted list.
Like Twitter, which many public safety agencies are now using to communicate directly with the public, Mobile Patrol allows for the fast release of public safety information that may help keep citizens and their families safer.
The American Red Cross mobile apps
The American Red Cross has a number of mobile apps that can make a huge difference in public safety.
The First Aid app offers information on how to handle common first aid emergencies, which can be of great use to law enforcement and other public safety officials who may need information on how to help an injured person.
There are also disaster apps: Hurricane, Tornado, Earthquake, Wildfire, Flood, and Emergency. These apps give weather and disaster alert information, and also allow users to let their loved ones know they’re safe, even when the power is out.
LiveSafe
Used by many large corporations and educational institutions, LiveSafe is a mobile app that allows users to connect with security or public safety officials at their organization.
The platform includes features like SafeWalk, which lets friends and family “virtually walk each other home” by monitoring a contact’s progress from point to point on a real-time map. Another feature is Safety Map, which shows users places of safety - police stations, hospitals, etc. - in the area in which they work or go to school.
The app also allows users to submit tips to public safety or law enforcement about suspicious people or behavior.
Mobile apps are just one way that technology is helping us live more safely. To read more about tech and public safety, read our post “Smart, Safe Cities: GE’s Smart Streetlights to Include Gunshot Detection.”
Sometimes you don’t need an entire 1,000 word article to get the point across. Every now and then you just need a reminder of what your actual goals are. Think of it as a concentrated dose of motivation, contained in just a few words. That’s what these quotes are—motivation. Motivation for you and your employees to keep up your level of excellent customer service.
1. Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong.
—Donald Porter
2. The way to a customer’s heart is much more than a loyalty program. Making customer evangelists is about creating experiences worth talking about.
—Valeria Maltoni
3. Loyal customers, they don’t just come back, they don’t simply recommend you, they insist that their friends do business with you.
—Chip Bell
4. You’ll never have a product or price advantage again. They can be easily duplicated, but a strong customer service culture can’t be copied.
—Jerry Fritz
5. A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.
—Jeff Bezos
6. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not a single act, but a habit.
—Aristotle
7. In the world of Internet Customer Service, it’s important to remember your competitor is only one mouse click away.
—Doug Warner
8. The more you engage with customers the clearer things become and the easier it is to determine what you should be doing.
—John Russell
9. If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.
—Jeff Bezos
10. Customer service is a voluntary act that demonstrates a genuine desire to satisfy, if not delight, a customer.
—Steve Curtin
And if you’re still looking for some help managing your contact center, then call KOVA today. Our contact center software solutions are perfect for any business looking for ways to improve their customer service.
Bet you thought that The Fierce Urgency of Now was just the cool title of an acclaimed book by Princeton Professor Julian Zelser that hit the streets in 2015. Nope – not by a longshot. In fact, those words were spoken by none other than civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, in a speech on April 4, 1967 for a gathering of Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam, held in Riverside Church that evening in New York City.
“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there "is" such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.”
Today our nation finds itself in a similar position of frustration caused by too-frequent terror attacks on U.S. soil, and rescue operations held in foreign lands to save underprivileged and abused populations in desperate situations. Not that helping others is wrong – it’s what we do. It’s just that meanwhile Americans are suffering from poverty, job loss, and the inequality that comes from piling blame on those not really responsible for those undercurrents – African Americans and our officers in blue.
Whether the effects of social injustice are due to police carrying the burden of keeping the peace in low-income, high-crime communities – or an overall lack of respect for basic human rights – there is one common thread emerging from the recent volatile events between cops and black lives that matter in this oh-so-hot summer of 2016: patience has run its course and we need to acknowledge the problems and find some solutions, now.
President Obama’s been telling us over the past few weeks, “We’re better than this.” He returned early from peacekeeping talks overseas to offer a speech of consolation to the nation at the July 12th memorial for 5 policemen from Dallas – slain in an alarming ambush by a lone assailant with multiple weapons, a history of mental instability and too much hatred.
“While assigned to protect and keep orderly the peaceful protest and response to the killings of Alton Sterling of Baton Rouge and Philando Castile of Minnesota” – even amidst signs with angry words and shouted obscenities – these brave men “were upholding the constitutional rights of this country.”
The following night, CNN’s Don Lemmon was inspired to ‘start a conversation’ at a town meeting with attendees expressing an ingrained fear of police brutality and cops wondering why their jobs were part of the problem.
It was an interesting mix of black, white and blue. One Caucasian retired police chief insisted there wasn’t an issue, that police do what it takes to stay safe while enforcing the law. Another answered the question of, “How do I stay safe when stopped by police?” with “Keep your hands on the wheel.” That sparked indignation at why blacks had to ‘perform’ by a different set of rules, and a great divide opened up and swallowed the moment.
Just when it seemed there was no common ground to be had, one black police officer rose and gave a heartrending apology to a mother grieving that her 12-year old son would eventually fall victim to biased cultural backlash and not come home one day. He held her in a hug until her sobs subsided, and the room was still, and thoughtful. The town hall lasted one and a half hours, and it was just a drop in the bucket – but there was a conversation.
When police can feel secure in their safety as they go about performing their duties of protecting our citizenry; when they are provided with advanced situation awareness technology; and they are paid wages commensurate with their responsibilities – it will allow them to focus on being the best they can be, at one career.
Perhaps when parents of color can raise proud children with paths to the future, without worrying that they will be singled out or persecuted because they are feared by those who misunderstand their experience; when all Americans can learn from what makes them different and rejoice in what they have in common – our nation will benefit in ways we have always thought were unattainable.
KOVA Corporation has always been about communication, and expert application of systems and software. We specialize in public safety software, from mobile call recording to physical security management – giving actionable information to public, government and enterprise organizations which they may use for effective emergency response, investigations and analysis.
