Band will bring back a lost child
Jul 26 2008 by Dave Black, The Journal
APIONEERING child safety system developed in the North East has become the first to be recommended by national police chiefs.
Police forces in the South East and Scotland are now using the Tag n Go wristband system designed and manufactured by Blyth telecoms company DataSMS.
Its use by forces in Surrey, the Met, Thames Valley, Kent and Grampian follows the product’s official accreditation by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO).
The Tag n Go range was developed to provide instant communication between a lost child and their parents or group leaders if they become separated during an outing, at an event or on holiday.
Children are given a brightly coloured wristband containing a unique code number which their parent, teacher, group leader or carer registers with a central electronic database at the start of the holiday, trip or outing.
If the child gets lost or separated they are told to approach a responsible adult who can use the code number to instantly send a text message via their mobile phone to the youngster’s parent or guardian, and arrange to immediately re-unite them.
The system has worldwide coverage, which allows it to be used while children are on international trips and holidays. It is already being used by schools, nurseries and voluntary youth organisations across the country.
ACPO has awarded Tag n Go its Secured by Design accreditation, which commends products that help reduce crime through effective environmental design.
Surrey Police led the way by buying 20,000 of the wristbands to hand out to parents at events which they organise – and other forces have followed suit. DataSMS managing director Terry Munley said yesterday Northumbria Police were also interested in using the system and was seeking funding to buy some of the wristbands.
“The ACPO accreditation is a great endorsement for the product, and the fact that several police forces are now using it is a very good thing. The system is completely confidential and ticks all the right boxes for the police and safety organisations.
“The beauty of it is that anyone with a mobile phone can use the wristband code to reunite a lost child with their parents. That is a big plus for the police because it means that, hopefully, they don’t have to launch a search.”
Since receiving the ACPO award, DataSMS has seen increasing interest from the emergency services. Ray Rutherford, head of business development with Surrey Police, said: “We chose Tag n Go as our commercial partner primarily because of their existing, simple to use protocols and proven technology.”
