The city police, joining hands with the Technopark-based firm UST Global, have come out with a mobile application for smartphones which, they say, will help the public alert the police whenever they are in danger.
Addressing a press conference here, City Police Commissioner H. Venkatesh said the app, titled ‘Thiruvananthapuram City Police’ and available on Google Play for Android and on iTunes for iPhone users, would, as of now, offer services such as information on traffic violations and the fines for each violation just in case policemen on the road asked for fines higher than that stipulated by law.
It would also have the facility to report an offence, along with a photograph, by sending an e-mail to the City Police Commissioner. The users could also get information on speed limits in the city, a Google Map facility to track the nearest police station, emergency numbers, and a variety of safety tips.
UST Global Country Head Alexander Varghese said efforts were on to upgrade the existing version of the app shortly, and incorporate a ‘Panic Button,’ which would enable a user to just click a link on the app and send an SOS to the City Police Control Room in case of a danger situation. The message sent would transmit the location of the user and alert the control room if the user was moving from that location. Except for the GPS and e-mail functionalities, which would come in handy primarily for reporting an offence and to track the nearest police station, the rest of the services would be available without an Internet connection as well. One would have to search for ‘Thiruvananthapuram City Police’ on Google Play for Android-based smartphones to find the app, which would be installed on the phone under the acronym ‘TCP.’ S. Ajeetha Begum, Deputy Commissioner of Police, and Assistant Commissioners D. Vijayan (Special Branch), P. Bijoy (Control Room), and K.E. Baiju (Crime Detachment) were present. The app will have facility to report an offence by sending an e-mail to the City Police Commissioner.
UST Global Country Head Alexander Varghese said efforts were on to upgrade the existing version of the app shortly, and incorporate a ‘Panic Button,’ which would enable a user to just click a link on the app and send an SOS to the City Police Control Room in case of a danger situation. The message sent would transmit the location of the user and alert the control room if the user was moving from that location. Except for the GPS and e-mail functionalities, which would come in handy primarily for reporting an offence and to track the nearest police station, the rest of the services would be available without an Internet connection as well. One would have to search for ‘Thiruvananthapuram City Police’ on Google Play for Android-based smartphones to find the app, which would be installed on the phone under the acronym ‘TCP.’ S. Ajeetha Begum, Deputy Commissioner of Police, and Assistant Commissioners D. Vijayan (Special Branch), P. Bijoy (Control Room), and K.E. Baiju (Crime Detachment) were present. The app will have facility to report an offence by sending an e-mail to the City Police Commissioner.