South Waikato District Council Case Study

The situation report

On a Tuesday in September 2018, Jon Smith, warranted Animal Control and Compliance officer for the South Waikato District Council responded to public reports that a roaming dog was threatening members of the public. The situation quickly escalated when Jon informed the owner of the offending animal. The level of threatening, abusive language caused Jon to fear for his safety. As he tried to leave the property, a car was reversed into him blocking his exit. The situation escalated so quickly, and with all his training and experience, he knew this could go bad beyond him being able to stay safe alone.

The safety action

Jon activated the SOS on his EGIS duress device. Guardian Angel operator, Natalia picked up the call placed by the EGIS direct to the Emergency line in the station. Natalia confirmed the wearer was Jon and could hear the altercation taking place. GPS tracking on the device made it quick and easy for Natalia to despatch the police to the exact location. They arrived within minutes to secure the scene.

A second operator contacted Jon’s Manager who went to the scene to support him. Natalia stayed on the line with Jon until she was happy that Jon was out of danger.

“This is our “why”. We work hard behind the scenes daily to test and improve our processes. Natalia’s handling of this incident ensured Jon’s safety, and immediate support from his manager. That 1% of the time when things go wrong, we have to be 100% and Natalia and the monitoring team really were – we’re super proud of them”

Petra Hakansson, GM Guardian Angel Security

Client feedback

“At a push of a button I had help. I didn’t even need to think about where I was, with the location automatically being sent to the Guardian Angel monitoring centre. I felt so much safer knowing the call was being recorded, and someone was right there with me giving me confidence Police were not far away.

Guardian Angel provided all the safety they promised and saved me from a potentially very serious outcome. Our training tells us to back out of situations like this and this is what I did, I’m so grateful to Natalia and the Guardian Angel team for keeping myself and my colleagues safe while we go about our job of keeping the community and animals safe.”

Jon Smith, Animal Control Officer.