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Where helpful, officers at the respective Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) operation centres can now choose to initiate a live video stream during '999' or '995' calls.

Callers, from a safe location, will then give the operators consent to activate the live video stream.

This new capability, the Emergency Video System, is jointly developed by the SPF, the SCDF and the Home Team Science and Technology Agency in collaboration with ST Engineering.

How it works

In a media factsheet jointly released by the agencies on Mar. 20, they noted that officers at the operation centres may sometimes face difficulties in understanding the incident situation over an emergency call.

This is especially so for "complex and dynamic situations" in which the caller may be unable to communicate the extent of the situation, the agencies said.

When deemed useful, officers at the operations centres will initiate the activation of the system.

Callers will then receive an SMS with a hyperlink.

After tapping on the hyperlink, the web browser on the caller's mobile phone will be used to stream live footage of the incident.

No installation of mobile applications is required on the caller's phone.

While the live video stream is active, the caller should remain on the '999' or '995' call as this will allow the operation centre officers to communicate verbally with the caller, said the agencies.

The caller's location will also be transmitted by the system to the operation centre.

System will aid in decision-making

According to SPF and SCDF, the link is a one-time link that will expire once tapped on or after a period of time, CNA reported.

Callers may also choose to decline the live video stream request by ignoring the link or end the video stream from their mobile phone, the Home Team agencies said, according to CNA.

"During major emergencies that involve both agencies (e.g. major fires), the same live stream may be shared between the SPF and SCDF Operations Centres", the agencies pointed out in the factsheet.

According to the agencies, the introduction of the Emergency Video System will augment the Home Team's emergency call response and aid in their officers' situational assessment and decision-making.

"The Emergency Video System will provide SCDF and SPF with an additional means for triaging and sense making, before the arrival of responding officers at the incident location. This will also enable the responding forces in their preparations while en-route to the incident location."

Top image by Mothership and via Ministry of Home Affairs