From missing people to medical emergencies, Device Location Information (DLI) is helping frontline responders access critical location information faster and get help to people when they need it most.

In August last year the DLI service went live, giving emergency services a faster way to locate people whose life or health may be at serious risk, in the absence of an emergency call from the individual concerned.

The need for the service is significant. Around one in five calls to emergency services involve someone reporting concerns about another person rather than seeking help for themselves. In these situations, DLI can provide emergency services with the approximate geographical location of a person's mobile device, subject to strict authorisation and privacy controls.

The service can now be used by NZ Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Hato Hone St John, Wellington Free Ambulance and Maritime New Zealand to support responses involving missing people, medical emergencies, search and rescue incidents and other crisis situations where there is a serious threat to the life and health of an individual.

With thousands of approved requests in the first year DLI has quickly become an important part of the emergency response toolkit, helping to access device location information and find people in need faster:

• More than 2,600 DLI service requests were approved under the telecommunications information privacy code. That's around 50 approved requests every week.
  

• Approvals to use the DLI service took fewer than 15 minutes to process and once approved, the service instantly requests a location estimate from the mobile network operator.
  

• 92,000 successful location estimates were found for approved location searches.

Through direct integration with New Zealand's mobile network operators, the DLI service can retrieve location information through a single request, removing the need for emergency services to contact multiple providers separately.

Clint Somers, Manager Location Information Services, says one of the biggest surprises during the first year has been hearing directly from emergency service organisations about the difference the service is making.

"The stories we've heard have demonstrated the real impact of DLI, helping locate missing people, supporting those in crisis, and assisting responders in situations where every moment matters.

SafetyNet Chief Executive Steve Ferguson says the first anniversary is an opportunity to recognise both the service and the people behind it.

"DLI is a great example of what can be achieved when emergency services, government agencies, mobile network operators and industry partners work together to solve a real-world problem."

For Clint, the milestone is also an opportunity to recognise the team behind the service.

"While the outcomes are a source of pride, I'm most proud of the Location Information Services Team. Without them, the service wouldn’t exist. Every day they work hard to support, analyse and operate a complex service that emergency responders depend on during critical moments.”

One year on, DLI is helping emergency services find people faster when they are most at risk and behind every request is a dedicated team working to provide critical device location information when it’s needed most.

As a pioneering technological achievement, DLI has also attracted interest from public safety organisations overseas, and SafetyNet has been pleased to share information about the service with its international peers.