Wairoa District Council unveils ‘go roam’ phone app designed to assist with making Wairoa district the safest of all districts in New Zealand

Today, a revolutionary phone app is to be unveiled at the 53rd Annual Conference of the New Zealand Institute of Animal Control Officers

Wairoa, Hawkes Bay: Today, the CEO of Wairoa District Council, Fergus Power, announced that a new phone app will shortly be released to the public following trials.

The app, which will run on iPhones, android and other phones, is designed to make it almost effortless for members of the community to report events involving animals to the Wairoa District Council. Mr Power said “Examples include an aggressive dog, a dog attack, or a wandering cattle beast endangering vehicles on a remote road”.

Mr Power said the design was ‘rather clever’. A user, faced with a wandering or dangerous dog, could enter their contact details, a photograph and/or a description of the dog, and dispatch an alert to Wairoa District Council. Geodata captured by the phone, providing the precise location of both the user, and where the actual event occurred, along with a photo identifying the animal, would be received by Council Animal Control Officers. The system is linked to Council’s databases, and officers will quickly be able to cross-reference information to assist with identifying the animal. The user will be informed that a response is in progress.

“This is all about making Wairoa district the safest district in New Zealand”, said Mr Power. “Irresponsible dog owners are placed on notice that every member of the community who carries a smartphone now has an enormously efficient protective device at their disposal - one which will make enforcement action many times more effective”, said Mr Power.

“This system is smart”, he said. “Take for example a member of the public who comes across a wandering horse or cattle beast on SH38 (the route to Lake Waikaremoana). They can still use the system even if there is no mobile phone reception”, he said. “The phone retains the geodata relating to the event, and as soon as the phone comes into a reception zone, the event is transmitted to Wairoa District Council, with photo/geolocation data identifying the precise location of the problem, and allowing officers to respond and protect the safety of the public”, he said.

“We will expand this system to include graffiti reporting, and other uses - all of which will cement Wairoa district’s reputation as one of the smartest and safest districts in New Zealand. In addition, our growing reputation as a centre of research excellence is attracting research students (both New Zealand and international) of the highest calibre, and the community can look forward to many exciting developments”, he said.

5 July 2016

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