We missed this earlier: On March 13, Telangana launched the Travel Safe (T-Safe) service for women traveling alone, as reported by the Economic Times. The service can be accessed by dialing 100 or 112 and selecting option 8 on the interactive voice response (IVR) system. Once a woman initiates the process, she will be prompted to set a special code that the police can utilize to verify her identity. Subsequently, the woman will receive periodic automated calls from the police to ensure her safety throughout her journey. During these calls, she will need to enter the special code to confirm her identity and reassure authorities of her well-being.
Watch this captivating short film showcasing the groundbreaking and unprecedented ride monitoring service launched by the Telangana Police’s Women Safety Wing.
T-Safe is redefining the perception of safety and innovation. A ride monitoring service by your first & best friend,… pic.twitter.com/pZhlq0mNca
— Shikha Goel, IPS (@Shikhagoel_IPS) Marc h 19, 2024
According to the Economic Times report, the T-Safe service also includes a dedicated mobile application, where women with smartphones can download the T-Safe app, which enables them to share their live location with their families. Additionally, the Telangana Police’s Women Safety Wing has announced plans to integrate the service with cab aggregators and other private transport services, further enhancing safety measures for women traveling alone.
Where this service falls short:
“While the intent of the service is noble, it might fail to produce adequate results for several reasons. Firstly, the service’s reliance on calls for safety confirmation renders it ineffective if an attacker removes the SIM card.”
Even with the SIM intact, a user might miss the call for various reasons, such as having her phone on silent or falling asleep. This lack of response could lead to a false alarm situation where the police mistakenly think the woman is in distress when she may actually be safe. This, in turn, could result in unnecessary deployment of limited police resources on a potential wild goose chase. If such false alarms are frequent, it could lead to alert fatigue, where those deployed to respond to track trips under T-Safe start ignoring missed check-ins.
The potential shortcomings of T-Safe closely resemble the panic button that was hardcoded into smartphones in India. According to a government notification, all smartphones sold in India after January 1, 2017, are required to have a panic button functionality activated by pressing the power button thrice in a row. Similarly, for feature phones, the panic button is activated by pressing the numeric keys 5 or 9 consistently. This panic button automatically calls the international emergency number 112. However, based on a 2019 report by the Times of India, the panic button ends up flooding the police with blank calls as people repeatedly press the power button accidentally. Just like the panic button experience showed that an overly simplistic trigger mechanism can backfire, T-Safe’s call also runs the risk of high false positive rates.”
Also read:
- Manipur Transport Department Initiates Process For Implementation Of Integrated Vehicle Tracking Platform
- How Delhi Police Uses Data From Emergency Calls To Track, Map Crime
- Exclusive: A Look At Chennai Police’s Proposed GIS Mapping Of Crime Zones And Its Dangers
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