In a revolutionary move, the Kerala Police has integrated state-of-the art technology and women’s safety and launched the Nirbhayam app to prevent crimes against women through swift response to distress calls. ADGP (Law and Order) Vijay S Sakhare was quoted as saying “The app is going to revolutionize the way in which police will be attending to distress calls from women who need police protection.” The app uses GPS technology to trace the location of the caller and reach the location in ten minutes or less. The Nirbhayam app is being popularized by the government through advertisements featuring famous malayalam actress Manju Warrier and Sri. Pinarayi Vijayan, Hon. Chief minister of Kerala.
The app design is simple and very user-friendly. After downloading the app,the first step is to register using one’s name, phone number and district. Any person in distress, man or woman, can press and hold the HELP button for five seconds to alert the police. The app also has provisions to leave a text or audio message to the police. In addition to this, the caller can capture pictures and videos that can be used as evidence later on. Putting women’s safety first, priority is given to reaching the scene as fast as possible and therefore, there will be no call-back or verification by the Police. Once sent, a text message, audio or graphic files cannot be unsent.
“The alert from the app goes to a control room in each district. They alert mobile units and police stations near the displayed location. Even if you have registered under a different district, the services of the app will be available 24/7 in all districts of Kerala and not just yours. The working of the app is very similar to the 112 police helpline.” This is what Pratibha, a Grade Senior civil police officer at the Medical college Police Station Thrissur, had to say about the Nirbhayam app.
This is not the Kerala police’s first attempt to integrate technology with policing.
The Kerala Police had launched a citizen centric mobile app called POL-APP in June last year. It made all police services available a click away. The app had become an instant hit, with almost 50,000 downloads within two days of its launch. The app was developed by TCS and provides 27 state of the art facilities including Citizen Services, Women and Child related Services, Citizen Safety Services and Information Services. POL-APP is set to expand its reach to 42 services in the near future.
“The Kerala government is committed to women’s safety and for this, we have various initiatives.” informs Sub Inspector Suvrathakumar. “Under the Nirbhaya initiative, women police officers conduct self-defense workshops in schools and community centres,for women.” he adds. Under the Nirbhaya initiative, Kerala police employs a three-pronged approach to reduce crimes against women in the state: Prevention, Prosecution and Protection. Sensitizing campaigns, protection of vulnerable groups, law and policy formulation, establishment of rehabilitation centres are the major activities undertaken in this initiative. The Kerala Police has also employed selected autorickshaws and taxis to act as ‘nirbhaya auto/taxi’ to aid women to travel safely at any hour. The Kerala government has also opened ‘She-Lodges’ in several places as affordable and safe spaces for women to make overnight stays.
The ‘Nirbhayam App’ is definitely a feather in the state’s cap. The Kerala Police and Government are also creatively integrating social media, technology and new means of spreading awareness like memes and videos in an attempt to reduce the crime rate in the state and make policing more effective.
