Residents in West Dunbartonshire can now download an app created by Police Scotland to tackle domestic abuse and gender-based violence.
The Hollie Guard app is designed to give people nationwide the ability to travel safely by setting a start and end destinations before setting off. The feature will notify your emergency contact once you arrive safely at your destination.
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An alert will be triggered if you don’t arrive at your destination within the time parameters you have set. During the housing and communities meeting Labour councillor John Millar asked for more information on the scheme.
He said: “Police Scotland has highlighted various initiatives that have been launched to tackle domestic abuse. One of these initiatives is the Hollie Guard app.
“I am curious about this because I have constituents that can fall under that category of domestic abuse. It is always good to be able to pass on information that they might not know of so they have a safety net or get away from that situation.
“It is good to know if help can come quite quickly.”
Chief Supt Lynn Ratcliff explained that the app can be downloaded onto a mobile phone to help domestic abuse victims.
She said: “It can turn your phone into an almost safe device and you can use it to flag up any difficulties in a domestic relationship or if you are travelling alone, travelling into an unknown area and it will track your location.
“It can be used if you are out exercising or if you are simply going for a walk. Although we have highlighted it in a domestic space, I would say it is something that is more aligned with gender-based violence.”
Chief Insp Colleen Wylie added: “It is a safety mechanism to act as a deterrent should anyone feel they are at risk of being attacked. It will display an obvious alert and capture your GPS location.
“It is just an enhanced safety and protection app should individuals feel they are at risk which is particularly important in domestic abuse situations.
“We can find out more information and share that with you at a later date.”
