There are situations where there needs to be better human-like interaction with people reporting emergencies. Achieving this with current resources requires us to use the technology available to remove the need for human interaction where we can (on the part of 000 operators) and task them to the instances where personal attention is required.

If someone is reporting an emergency in a public place the system should be designed to connect the reporter to the emergency service personnel who will deal with the issue, ie in the nearest location.

In many cases it is possible to get a situational awareness without even speaking to a victim or person reporting an issue. Integrating existing technology and infrastructure is the answer.

We mostly carry mobile phones now. A little integration would see the demand for emergency services reduced, leaving the operators time to follow up properly on every emergency call.
It is a tough job and we need to make it easier, more reliable and efficient for all of us, including the emergency operators.

I leave you with a question – in the case of a threatened or actual assault in a public place – how are our children supposed to dial 000 and face interrogation over the phone at the point of a knife or with a boot in the face?

On a train or bus… which street are you in? Suburb. Doh?

Tourists just don’t have a chance.

000 just isn’t going to cut it in the 21st century.

There is plenty more I’d like to say but the mrs works for…