The App is wake-up call for parents to ensure their children’s safety

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - Saturday, March 29th 2014 [ME NewsWire]

The Ministry of Interior’s Child Protection Center has launched the HEMAYATI Application in the IOS A App Store for IPhone to enhance child safety and protection, and provide parents and caregivers with real-time communication with children through this App at all times. HEMAYATI also provides an ingenious SOS feature built-in, enabling children to send distress calls to their parents when they feel threatened, and then go on to notify the Operations Room about the SOS notification with a single click. It also enables the police to keep in constant contact with the families and their children in order to deal with the "Smart SOS" as notifications of the highest priority. It also enables the police to respond to emergencies within four minutes.

This step embodies the instructions of the higher leadership, and falls in line with the Child Protection Center's efforts to make use of smart technology to enhance public confidence, and achieve the aspirations of making the UAE “a civilization hub and a role model in the region for child protection and security”.

Making this application available for free on Apple Store follows the center’s previous success in launching the application on Google Play for smartphones operating via Android System. It also personifies the Ministry of Interior's efforts of developing smart interactive services via mobile phones.

"The Ministry of Interior is keen to transform the UAE's National Agenda for the next seven  years into projects and initiatives related to the security and police fields with a view to make the UAE one of the safest places in the world by achieving a total sense of security and by reducing the response time for emergency calls to just four minutes, ," said Major General Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, Secretary General of the Office of HH Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and Chairman of the Higher Committee for Child Protection.

He added: "The HEMAYATI Application was activated as a response to parents' requests wishing to know the whereabouts of their children. It also reflects the Ministry of Interior's keenness through its multiple initiatives, to provide protection for children from all kind of risks, especially while they are in contact with the cyber world."

For his part, Lieutenant Colonel Faisal Mohammed Al Shammari, Director of the Ministry of Interior’s Child Protection Center and Chairman of the Technical Subcommittee, explained that the application personifies the MoI's efforts of improving the smart interactive procedures and services that are available via mobile phones. "Activating the HEMAYATI System and the ongoing development also constitutes a response to parents’ requests wishing to know the whereabouts of their children  It also creates a safety net to improve the safety of a very important category in society; children," he continued. He also clarified that present and future signs indicate an increasing amount of challenges face innocent children. For this reason, protecting children against potential challenges should top all priorities, with a view to guarantee children’s safety and protection with all available means.

He noted that the service is limited to families with children. He also urged them to not hesitate to get the HEMAYATI Application and begin receiving its services in order to take advantage of its various features to enhance security and safety in society, and prevent any potential risks that children may face while they are unattended in public places.

He also asked parents to emphasize the application’s importance to their children and introduce them to its benefits that can protect them. He pointed out the successful experimental link of the HEMAYATI Application to the Central Operations Room, in cooperation of the Operations Department at the General Directorate of Central Operations at Abu Dhabi Police, which will soon be followed with all Police Operations Rooms in the future to enhance children's safety and provide them with necessary protection.

Lieutenant Colonel Nasser Al Maskari, Head of the Operations Department at the Directorate General of Central Operations at Abu Dhabi Police, said that the various police Operations Rooms are working round the clock to serve citizens and residents, in line with the Abu Dhabi Police GHQ’s initiative to improve response time and measure efficiency. The application helps to save time and effort needed to reach the locations that parents send in response to their children’s SOS notifications, should they feel that they are in a dangerous situation.

He stressed that the HEMAYATI Application features sufficient information for parents about their children. This information also allows the Operation Room to communicate and reach the children in no time. A comprehensive study is currently underway to develop the service and link it to the Systems of Command Control Center. Lieutenant Colonel Al Maskari urged the public to not misuse the service and notify the Operation Room of emergencies only."The application is exceptional for its safety features, as it is used privately. It helps parents by providing sufficient information about their children's whereabouts and notifies them if they are in any dangerous situations. It also helps the competent authorities by reducing the time needed to provide assistance in such situations,” he added.

Captain Majid Hashim Al Hashimi, Information Security Officer, asserted that the HEMAYATI Application is distinguished for its safety specifications and the privacy features for its users. He also pointed out that the Application messaging services are secured to protect family privacy. This security is guaranteed by the registration mechanism in the app that requires the person’s ID to access the service, and authorizes them to access by entering a personal password.

Adding further, he said: “Data from users’ Emirates Identity Cards is used for registration. The identity of the person activating the application is confirmed, and allows the application to be activated only by parents. To do so, one must enter the ID number to be sure that the person is authorized to use the application. The last three digits of their phone number are sent to be confirmed and then they receive a PIN code to be used to complete the registration process. The wife and children can register online through the main application menu. The system grants the husband and wife the option to hide their whereabouts.”

The HEMAYATI app allows parents to keep track of their children’s whereabouts or know that they didn’t reach school or any other public destination on time. It sends an automatic alert to the father and the mother should their child fail to reach a specific destination on time. The father can set his child’s arrival time at school, between 7:30 am and 7:45 am. If the child does not reach school on time or fails to appear, the application sends an alert to the parents in order to enable them to take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of their child. Family members can communicate with each other by clicking on the picture of one of the family members on the map; the name and the last known whereabouts of the latter appear. This is only accessible to family members through a chat called “special group”.

. The application features secure specifications due to its privacy policy, and helps to determine the whereabouts of children when they go missing.

To use the application, one must register in the HEMAYATI system. To do so, one must enter the ID number. Then, the person will receive a message with a PIN code generated by the system. Entering the PIN code allows verification of the phone owner’s identity. After that, the registration is completed through the application itself. You can send an invitation message to add your wife to your account. To do so, you should enter her ID Number and her e-mail. The wife will then receive an e-mail, containing a link with the terms of use and conditions, which she should accept in order to complete the registration process. In order to add a new member to a group, enter the persons’ ID Number, and then press “Add Location”. To add a location, you may press the “+” sign, and enter the location name. You may also navigate the map to find the location. “Use Current Location” to find your location on the map. Finally, press “Add Location”. In order to add “To Do”: Chose the location, specify date, time and frequency. Finally, press “Add”.

The HEMAYATI free application is exclusively available in the UAE and is activated by parents only. It helps parents to locate children when they are lost. It is specifically designed to enhance the protection of children; it is not meant to impose any kind of control over them. Installing the application on the family members’ phones must be done by mutual consent, through their own discretion. Parents need to communicate with children, to convince them of the importance and benefits of this service that ensures their safety. To download and install the app, please visit the following link:

For IPhone:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hemayati-hmayty/id833318731?ls=1&mt=8

You may also look for the app on “Apple Store” by typing “HEMAYATI.”

For Android:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.CPCapp

You may also look for the app on “Google play” by typing “HEMAYATI.”

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Community Members Urged to Vote for the MoI’s Child Protection Center

The Ministry Of Interior’s Child Protection Center urged community members to follow the steps listed on the MoI’s Child Protection Center website, and cast their vote for the center, which has been nominated for “two projects”, listed among the final nominees for the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) Awards for 2014. Both projects have successfully passed the first and second levels of the qualification rounds that took place recently. Please visit the following link to cast your votes: http://www.moi-cpc.gov.ae.

The MoI’s Child Protection Center had participated with two projects, among a total of 10 participating projects that are representing the UAE in the competition, which features 18 categories, directly linked to the WSIS Action Lines outlined in the Geneva Plan of Action. The projects aim to highlight the importance of the international exchange of best practices, and encourage participants to submit their projects to WSIS, as an integral part of the evaluation process.

The Child Protection Center has chosen to participate in the competition under the fifth category, which is related to “Building Confidence and Security in the Use of ICTs”. For this category, the Child Protection Center has submitted the Smartphone Application “HEMAYATI”. The Child Protection Center is also participating under the 18th category that is concerned with “International and Regional Cooperation” with the project of: “The 5th Biennial VGT Conference, under the theme: Combating Online Sexual Exploitation of Children with International Cooperation as an Enabler of Protection”.

The Security Media Department in the General Secretariat of the Office of H.H. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, has urged the public to reinforce its participation in the competition by extensively voting for both projects, in order to enhance the center’s chances of winning the award; noting that the submitted projects are receiving votes from all over the world. The importance of voting will be seen when the winning projects will be referred to in the future as Emirati experiments that were pioneering projects that benefit police and security systems worldwide, and local ministries, departments and institutions. This will also significantly enhance the UAE’s stature among the most advanced countries in the world, and transform the UAE into a knowledge-based economy.

For more information about:

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Abu Dhabi Police, please click HERE

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The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

Contacts

The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department

Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media

Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317

E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com