SOS APPLICATION

[Anchor Lead]

With cases of sexual harassment and related crimes continuously being reported, many people are growing anxious and don't know what to do in case they face emergency situations, especially late at night. In cases like these, a new smartphone application can be handy. We look at the very first successful arrest made at the scene of a sexual crime using an SOS application.

[Pkg]

A man loiters in an alleyway. When another man passes by, he hides... but reemerges when a female comes into sight. A car drives by and the man turns around again. But when the vehicle disappears, he again approaches the woman. Sensing danger, the woman flees in the opposite direction and files an urgent report using an app she had previously downloaded. The report reaches the control center of a nearby local administration office connected to the app. An officer immediately locates the individual through security camera footage. A patrol car then arrives on the scene. In just ten minutes, the police arrest the man on charges of indecent exposure. He is in his 50s. This marks the very first case of a criminal being caught in the act since the Seoul Metropolitan Government introduced the safety app.

[Soundbite] NOH HYEON-SEOK(CONTROL CENTER OFFICER) : "By indicating one's home or travel destination using the app, we can monitor the person's current location and his or her travel route back home via security cameras linked to the app."

Other local governments as well as the police operate similar apps that citizens can use in cases such as sex crimes or abduction. Without having to make a phone call, the app works by just pressing a single button. Shaking the phone will also activate the app.