What3words: North-east police trained to use app to help locate people

North-east police officers are now trained in the use of mobile app what3words that provides accurate location data.

From today, Tuesday March 9, Police Scotland is introducing the application as an additional location sharing tools.

When someone calls Police Scotland, service advisors will continue to ask for a postal address when someone phones either 999 or 101, however the opportunity to give a location using what3words will also be possible.

The app grids the world into 3×3 metre squares, encoding GPS co-ordinates to give each square a unique set of three words, which is helpful if someone is in an unfamiliar area, a rural location or somewhere that is difficult to describe.

This means no matter where you are in the north-east, there will be a location specific phase available if in need.

what3words has also been used in the north-east to great success, including most recently in the aftermath of the Stonehaven rail disaster last year.

Superintendent Iain MacLelland, digitally-enabled policing programme, said: “what3words will help front line police officers and staff to locate members of the public quickly when they are calling from an unknown or rural area.

“The introduction of what3words is a great additional resource for our communities and our officers who serve them.

“It’s also important to highlight that, when Covid-19 restrictions begin to ease, we know that people may want to venture further from home, to remote or rural locations. what3words does not change the requirement to ensure that you are properly prepared if heading to the hills, always have a map and compass and ensure that you have your route planned out in advance.”

Chris Sheldrick, co-founder and CEO of what3words explains that:  “With beautiful coastlines, highlands, lochs and world-famous events like the Edinburgh Fringe, Scotland is full of wonderful destinations.

“However, many of these locations can be difficult to communicate, particularly in an emergency. With the UK anticipating another staycation boom this summer, it’s brilliant to know that people can explore everything the country has to offer safe in the knowledge that all emergency services in Scotland now use and accept what3words addresses to find callers in need, even in the most remote areas.”