Police found an intellectually disabled person in Matamata through their phone, 37 minutes after they were reported missing. Photo: Unsplash/ Thom
Police have used a world-first tool twice this week to find people reported missing, by tracking the location information on their phones.
The new technology, the Device Location Information (DLI) service, could be used by emergency services to locate the mobile phone of a person who had not called 111 themselves but there are grave fears for their health or safety.
The technology, launched last week, made it faster for police to narrow the search area for people who were unable or unwilling to say where they were, in circumstances where it was necessary to prevent or lessen a serious threat to the life or health of the individual concerned or another individual.
The DLI capability was announced by Minister of Police Mark Mitchell last Friday.
Police Northern Emergency Communications and Dispatch Centre manager, Inspector Dan Weir, said on Thursday night, police received a report of a person with an intellectual disability missing from their home in Matamata.
"The person hadn't been seen for 30 minutes and had left their Wandatrak at home; it was raining and the person's family were becoming increasingly worried."
Inspector Weir said the decision was made to allow the DLI service to be used, sending officers to the person's location at a nearby park.
"The person was returned home 37 minutes after being reported missing, which is an incredible result.
"When every second counts, this service is yet another tool to help our teams get people the help they need to keep them safe.
"One of the most stressful parts of our job is trying to find out where people are when they're distressed and in need of help but can't tell us or don't know where they are, or equally if someone is reporting a loved one missing and doesn't know where they could be."
The DLI service delivers an improvement on the previous capability, which meant manual requests had to be made to mobile network operators to try to locate a device.
"Earlier in the week the service was used to assist in locating a person who's family had immediate concerns for their welfare.
"The person was found after being involved in a single vehicle crash in Piha, thankfully uninjured, and was able to get the help they needed.
"Time can often be the difference between life and death and we're thrilled to have access to this service."
Last week Hato Hone St John chief executive Peter Bradley welcomed the new emergency services resource.
"This is a vital tool that will help emergency services respond faster when every second counts," Bradley said.
"The ability to quickly locate a person whose life or health is at serious risk but unable to call for help can mean the difference between life and death.
"Crucially, this new capability highlights the value of collaboration between emergency service agencies.
"By working together and leveraging shared technology, we can deliver a faster, more accurate medical response to people when they need it, wherever they may be."
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