The recently released crime stats by the South African Police Services (SAPS) and the rampant Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the country have made safety central in the lives of everyday South Africans.
A number of entrepreneurs and companies have stepped in and created Apps to help curb our daily safety anxieties.
These Apps range from location sharing services and sirens to those linked to law enforcement and private security companies.
Crimes that saw notable increases, which form part of safety concerns, were murder, commercial crimes ad sexual offences.
SAPS noted that 60% of all murders in the country took place over the weekend between 21h00 and 03h00, including Monday and saw the murder rate increase by 3.4 percent.
Sexual offences also saw a drastic increase up by 4.6 percent from last year.
We look at some of the already established applications and at ones that have emerged in recent months .
Namola
Namola lets South Africans #GetHelpFast by sending GPS coordinates to a Response Centre and facilitating emergency services for crime and safety incidents.
Namola claims to be the quickest way to request emergency assistance, by using your phone’s GPS location and alerting nearby responders who you are and where you are.
Namola also has a new standalone Panic Tracker now available.
Features:
- GPS Tracking
- Panic Button
- Can receive calls
- Charging dock
- Lanyard and keyring
- Battery life is 1 – 5 days between charges
MySOS SA
MySOS was founded in 2013 when a group of like-minded entrepreneurs identified the need for a free, independent and all-inclusive smartphone application that could serve as a “one-stop-shop” solution for access to the closest and most appropriate emergency services in South Africa.
South Africa has a unique situation with numerous emergency service providers from both the public and private sector, offering emergency assistance solutions to clients in the medical, rescue, security and roadside assistance industries.
MySOS offers clients access to appropriate emergency assistance when:
- You don’t know who to call
- You don’t know where you are
- You want to notify your emergency contacts about your emergency and the exact location
- You want your emergency contacts and the emergency services to navigate directly to your location in an emergency
Bull Horns Panic Button
The free Bull Horns Panic Button App allows you to instantly, silently alert your community and emergency responders with just a shake of your phone. You can also add and receive notifications about local crimes and suspicious activities.
The Bull Horns Panic Button App turns your phone into a panic button that will instantly, silently call, send notifications and SMS your emergency contacts.
Now your security company, if they partner with Bull Horn, can see your exact location in real time and their nearest available response vehicle will be instantly notified and so can proceed towards you.
Safety Alert
Momentum Short Term Insurance has boosted its safety offerings for customers with the introduction of Safety Alert, an innovative emergency panic button linked to armed response, which is available on the Momentum App.
The App which is linked to 1500 armed responders throughout the country- can be initiated when clients feel their personal safety and those around them is being threatened.
Location Sharing Apps
FIND MY FRIENDS
Find my Friends is a location-sharing aApp that lets you locate your loved ones. Each “friend” has their own personal icon on the App’s map, so you’ll know their location in real time.
One of the Apps features lets friends issue an alert to each other if they need help.
Attached to the alert are details such as the person’s address, the time and their phone’s battery life.
Download App on IOS and Android
GLYMPSE
Glympse lets you temporarily share your real-time location with family, friends and even emergency services via an icon dropped on a map.
You can set up groups for specific occasions, such as a social gathering, and request an update from anyone you might be concerned about who is running late.
A bonus is that you can share your location with someone without them having to have downloaded the app.
