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.”