This is one of the sessions that was presented at BlueLightCamp 2014 by Matt Wroughton of West Midlands Fire Service, as well as at the recent Policing Social Citizens in Manchester. At both events the idea was well received by those attending the sessions.

Matt Wroughton presenting 999eye

Over the past few months, a team at West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) has been working on an innovative way of increasing the availability of information about an emergency incident to control room operators and category 1 responders during the incident itself. The team developing the solution are now seeking to connect with organisations who may be interested in being involved with the project in order to gain multiple perspectives on how the solution may be developed to provide maximum benefit to a variety of potential users.

Since the birth of the internet, at the very same time a call is placed and received through the 999 system, a vast array of internet enabled services have been providing a platform of information sharing freely and easily between endless numbers of internet users.

Some examples:

• Present-day smartphones have the functionality to record and relay images and video, often in real time, and which may later be uploaded onto internet sites or sold to media agencies.
• Mobile network providers are able to detect an increase in smartphone usage at the location and could potentially have data on numbers of people in the vicinity of an incident.read more