Police agencies using the What3words app
Law enforcement agencies are encouraging the public to download the precise location app what3words. Each 10-foot square is given a unique combination of three words.
Brief Law enforcement agencies encourage the public to download the what3words app. This app determines your exact location. Every 10-foot square is assigned a unique combination of three words. Law enforcement agencies in 49 states already use what3words.
BAYSIDE, Wis. – What if it only took three words to find the exact location of a missing person or person in emergency? A new app being used by dispatchers does just that. Masu.
In an emergency, every second counts.
“The problem is, not everyone knows where they are when they’re calling,” said Leanne Charnot, director of the Bayside Communication Center.
Sharnot said that’s the case even if the 911 caller knows the address of the emergency.
“Say you’re in an apartment complex or a large building. It’s not very tangible,” said Hannah Rittger, deputy director of the Bayside Communication Center.
But a new tool has emerged to help narrow down a person’s whereabouts.
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“With what3words, you can find near-exact location information,” Rittger said.
The app called what3words does exactly what its name suggests. Divide the map into 10-by-10-foot squares and give each square a different name that combines three words specific to that location.
“If you’re on Lake Michigan, we can find exactly where you are within a 3-by-3 meter square, because there’s no address in the middle of the lake,” Rittger said. spoke.
Bayside Communication Center just started using the app a few weeks ago and is encouraging people to download it.
“When people use what3words to search for a location on their phone, they can give us those three words and we can also pinpoint their location,” Charnot said. I did.
But the app isn’t limited to Wisconsin.
“Every 10-foot square in the world has three words in the dictionary,” said Chris Sheldrick, co-founder and CEO of what3words.
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As for privacy issues…
“You decide whether you want to share your location,” Sheldrick said.
The app’s founder said it depends on how much you want to share.
“It could be important to have that as a backup to save someone’s life,” Charnott said.
So far, government agencies in 49 states use what3words to locate people in emergencies.
Download the app
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Information in this post was provided by Bayside Communication Center and the CEO of what3words.
