At Home: Calgary to track 911 cellphone calls
With growing numbers of people ditching their land lines for cellphones, tracking the locations of 911 callers has become a pressing issue. But soon, Calgary’s emergency operators will have the ability to ?trace cellphone calls within a few metres of the caller’s actual location.?
As the CBC reports, about 200,000 emergency-service calls are placed from cellphones each year in Calgary. Currently, 911 operators can only track callers to the closest cell tower. That could be several kilometres away from the caller, making it nearly impossible to find them?especially since many callers are unable to give a precise location.
Beginning next week, though, changes to the system will ?measure the distance between the cellphone and a number of towers, then calculate a global positioning system location.?
The changes come in response to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) demands to improve tracking technology of the 911 system. The new system will also allow moving callers to be tracked.
Steve Dongworth, manager of public safety communications, told reporters that the updates mean 911 cellphone calls can now be pinpointed ?to within about three to six metres? from their origin.
In Foreign News: Indian students in Australia face exploitation
Indian students studying in Australia have long been the target of violent attacks, and the Indian government is now speaking out against another form of abuse those students face: exploitation by ?dodgy colleges and greedy employers.?
The Age reports that, in the midst of heated disagreement over whether the physical attacks are racially motivated, the Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs is also trying to highlight the broader problems faced by Indian students in Australia.
The Minister pointed out that Australian police have the time and energy to arrest students for infractions such as working more than the 20 hours a week allowed, yet have done little to stop exploitive practices by colleges and employers.
The problems include employers who pay less than the legal minimum wage, as well as ?bogus training colleges that effectively [act] as visa factories.? Both the Australian and Indian governments are aware of the abusive practices, but it appears that little is being done to help students.
Senior government officials in Australia have been concerned for some time that the country’s ?education, immigration and employment systems? are undermined by the depth of the problem, and its believed that organized crime plays a role in the ?complex networks? between businesses, colleges, and immigration agents.
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