How three words could help Sudbury Police find you in an emergency

If you find yourself lost in the middle of the bush, three small words could now be the key to police locating you. 

The Ontario Provincial Police announced on Monday it will be using What3Words, a new mobile app based on a global mapping system. 

The app comes in handy, police say, in emergency situations where people are unsure of their location. The app helps dispatchers pinpoint the caller's location so that police can respond to the situation. 

Sophie Smagac, a 911 communicator with the Greater Sudbury Police Service, says the app was developed in the United Kingdom, where it was first launched about two years ago.  

"They discovered a system that covers the entire world, and it separates it all by three-metre squares," she said, "And it's all based on algorithms which is incorporating the GPS co-ordinates," Smagac said.  

Mapping the world

"In the middle of each square there's a co-ordinate and instead of them just showing you that co-ordinate they've simplified it and translated it into three words. Now those three words are assigned to each square around the world, always remain the same." 

If you're lost and in an emergency, Smagac said, it doesn't matter where you are or whether you have cell phone reception or not, you can use the app if it's downloaded onto your phone. 

It's definitely a beneficial tool as dispatchers, since we'll be able to assist the public better when they need us.— Sophie Smagac, 911 communicator with Greater Sudbury Police Service

"If you are lost and you do have cell phone reception, however, you had not downloaded the app previously, what the dispatchers with the Greater Sudbury Police would do is send an SMS link to that person's cell phone providing them with the What3Words site, which will then automatically give them their three-word location." 

Once the three-word tag is confirmed, she said, the dispatcher pumps it through the global mapping system and locates the caller. 

'Will definitely be a big game changer'

"It's definitely a beneficial tool as dispatchers, since we'll be able to assist the public better when they need us," she said. 

"We're the 12th largest municipal police service in Ontario and we cover over 3,600 square kilometres so adding this tool ... will definitely be a big game changer because we have had to deal with situations where the location isn't located as accurately or as fast as we need it to be." 

Smagac said while the app is useful, it does not replace 911, people still need to dial the number to reach a dispatcher. 

"This is just another tool we're adding to our belt in circumstances where we need more accurate locations," she said. 

Ontario Provincial Police have also announced they are using the same app, as well.

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