The Saskatchewan government has selected a team of technology startups to develop prototype systems to help reduce rural crime.
Jeff Shirley, owner of Rivercity Technology Services Ltd. in Saskatoon, and William Topping, founder of Brand X Technologies also in Saskatoon, will work in a joint venture partnership to design an app and GPS device that will alert rural residents and landowners of any irregular activity.
The GPS device would be placed on property and would be trackable on cell phones and other mobile devices. Residents would log any events or incidents into the app, and that would immediately alert law enforcement.
The team will spend 16 weeks working with the justice ministry on the proposed solution.
If the result meets the ministry’s needs, it will be first offered as a pilot project.
The initiative was promised as part of the government’s rural crime reduction strategy announced last summer.
Contact karen.briere@producer.com
