Gyeonggi-do Expands 'Safety Bell' Pilot Project for Single-Person Households Including Women to 3,000 Participants

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province is expanding the number of participants in the pilot operation project of the 'Gyeonggi Safety Bell,' aimed at the safety and crime prevention for single-person households and women, from 1,000 people last year to 3,000 people this year.

The Gyeonggi Safety Bell is a service where, in case of an emergency, pressing the bell allows the police to immediately identify the location of the reporter and dispatch officers.

In the first year of the project last year, the province distributed fixed-type safety bells in Suwon City and Ansan City and conducted a pilot operation targeting 1,000 people.

This year, a portable safety bell will be additionally developed, and both fixed and portable types will be demonstrated with 3,000 participants.

The fixed type is a device installed inside the home that sends the home address when the bell is pressed, while the portable type is a device carried around that sends the current location.

It is linked with smartphones via Bluetooth communication, providing location information to the police.

No separate construction costs are required, and with simple installation, it can be linked with other safety bells and gateways (repeaters installed in public institution buildings) to enable reporting.

The province, in cooperation with Suwon City and Ansan City, is accepting applications for the 'Gyeonggi Safety Bell 2nd Pilot Operation Demonstration Participants' through an online platform and will distribute the 'Gyeonggi Safety Bell' sequentially.

Also, by next year, a total of 1.83 billion KRW will be invested to expand the number of demonstration participants to 5,000, and through a professional research institute's service, project monitoring will be promoted to spread the achievements of the 'Gyeonggi Safety Bell.'

Lim Moon-young, Director of Future Growth Policy at the province, explained, "The goal of the project is to establish a response system that allows single-person households or single-person stores, who find it difficult to respond quickly to safety accidents or sudden situations, to live with peace of mind." He added, "We expect that gradually expanding the Gyeonggi Safety Bell will contribute to crime and safety accident prevention."

Meanwhile, the Gyeonggi Safety Bell pilot project was selected last year in the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's '2020 Regional Customized Disaster Safety Problem-Solving Technology Development Support New Project Contest.'

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.