Share live location on WhatsApp, stay on call with cops: Haryana police's new drive for women's safety

Gurugram: Haryana Police has launched an initiative under its Emergency Response Support System, allowing women travelling alone to be in touch with them in real time in a bid to ensure their safety, especially at night. Women can now dial '112' and share their live location on Whatsapp with the police control room to avail the service, a senior police officer said.

They will also have the option to stay on a call with cops until they reach their destination, the officer said.

To register, women can call '112' and share their travel details, including name, mobile number, departure and arrival locations and expected travel times. The Haryana dial '112' team will then track the woman's location and stay in contact with her until she reaches her destination, he said.

The system is also connected to existing emergency response systems, including police, fire and health departments, which allows it to track the location of all services in real time and direct the nearest vehicle to the person in need, police said.

Additionally, users can activate a panic call by pressing the power button on their phone three times quickly or long-press '5' or '9' key on a feature phone.

They can also email an SOS alert to the State Emergency Response Centre or use the 112 India Mobile App, the officer said.

Haryana Director General of Police, Shatrujeet Kapur recently held a review meeting with senior police officials in Chandigarh to enhance women's safety system.

Kaur also released a video message, especially for the working women, talking about the new services in the system.

The meeting focused on the trip-monitoring service, creation of databases for auto-rickshaws and working women as well as the operational review of Haryana '112'.

Since introducing the 'Dial 112' project in July 2021, the average response time has reduced from 16 minutes and 14 seconds to 7 minutes, the officer said, adding that police teams now reach out to distress callers faster.