World-first use of ‘Siri’ by Western Australia police

World-first tech sees Apple collaborate with law enforcement to make it safer and easier for officers to do their job on the go.

Western Australia Police are using Apple CarPlay to respond to emergencies.

Smartphone technology that revolutionised in-car entertainment could change the way emergency services respond to events.

Western Australia Police have conducted a world-first trial replacing conventional in-car data terminal computers with Apple CarPlay on the car’s standard stereo screen.

Western Australia Police are using Apple CarPlay to respond to emergencies.

The tech allows officers to use voice commands instead of a keyboard or complicated screen interface, simplifying inputs to police data systems.

It has the potential to make police cars much cheaper to equip, as well as safer for officers in the event of a crash.

Sophisticated data terminals in Police cars offer astounding information, but can be complex to operate and pose a hazard in serious crashes. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Sergeant Ian Connell of W.A. Police’s digital policing division said the development was “one of the highlights of my career”.

“We’re the first law enforcement agency in the world that’s been chosen to have a look at CarPlay and see how it performs in the field,” he said.

Sergeant Ian Connell appeared in a video on Facebook explaining how the tech is used.

“Having tested it lots and lots of times I can say it works admirably.

“The benefits to police and the benefits to the community are second to none.

“CarPlay with the Siri commands allows me to navigate to jobs, to update jobs, and to do a whole gamut of tasking functions that previously had to be done by a manual keyboard or by excessive touching of a screen.”

Most modern cars, such as the Skoda recently adopted by WA Police, have CarPlay as standard.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring is standard in almost all new cars, giving drivers easy access to music, messaging and podcasts while blocking visual distractions such as video or picture messages.

Premier Mark McGowan said the technology “ will mean faster access to accurate information and intelligence while officers are on their way to an emergency”.

Western Australia Police are using Apple CarPlay to respond to emergencies.

“It is important our police are equipped with the latest technology and this initiative will significantly support frontline operations,” he said.

“Our police will be armed with critical operational information and have better situational awareness as they arrive at an incident.”

Police Minister Paul Papalia said it was “a major boost to policing”.