The HCM City Department of Public Security has launched two operational models designed to shorten emergency response times and streamline technology use across the city police force.
The first model created the Emergency Information Reception and Handling Team under the city police Command and Information Centre. The Science and Technology Club was also established.
The city police force has transferred reception of calls to the 114 hotline for fire prevention, firefighting and rescue from the Fire Police Division to the Command and Information Centre.
The new team will serve as a unified hub for receiving, classifying and processing emergency calls from the 113 and 114 hotlines.
It will dispatch rapid response units, fire and rescue teams and local ward police to incident scenes to reduce delays in handling calls.
Senior Colonel Tran Hong Minh, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Public Security, praised the units that rapidly installed equipment and rerouted the 114 hotline despite limited facilities.
Minh said the model was a pilot step towards implementing Prime Minister's Decision No. 1166, issued on June 29, 2026.
The decision calls for the three main national emergency services covering security, fire and rescue, and medical emergencies to be combined in a single call centre, he said.
Combining emergency channels should streamline operations and increase the time available to save lives and protect property, said Senior Colonel Tran Manh Ha, head of the Telecommunications, Information Technology and Cryptography Division.
The integration would significantly strengthen the force's rapid response capabilities, he said.
The Science and Technology Club brings together officers and personnel with expertise in digital technology and scientific research.
The club will develop software for operational needs, automate data work and support digital transformation in operational command. Its work is also linked to Politburo Resolution No. 57 on breakthroughs in science, technology and innovation and national digital transformation.
After the opening ceremony, Command Centre officers ran simulations of three emergencies: a person with a knife attacking a citizen before fleeing, a serious traffic collision, and a major fire and explosion.
Using integrated digital maps and an artificial intelligence-powered security camera system, duty officers quickly tracked the suspect's escape direction, identified collision hotspots and determined optimal routes.
The automated system allowed the command unit to dispatch rapid response teams directly to the incident locations.
Sources: Viet Nam News
