ConsumerLab: Public safety goes personal

An Ericsson Consumer Insight Report
November 2016
ERICSSON
CONSUMERLAB
Public safety
goes personal

The voice of the consumer
Ericsson ConsumerLab has more than 20 years’ experience
studying people’s behaviors and values, including the
way they act and think about ICT products and services.
Ericsson ConsumerLab provides unique insights on
market and consumer trends.
Ericsson ConsumerLab gains its knowledge through
a global consumer research program based on
interviews with 100,000 individuals each year, in more
than 40 countries – statistically representing the views
of 1.1 billion people.
Both quantitative and qualitative methods are used,
and hundreds of hours are spent with consumers
from different cultures. Ericsson ConsumerLab has
representatives throughout Ericsson’s global presence,
developing an international understanding of the
ICT market and business models.
All reports can be found at:
www.ericsson.com/consumerlab
2 ERICSSON CONSUMERLAB PUBLIC SAFETY GOES PERSONAL
Methodology
Contents
This study is based on data collected from
3,500 smartphone users in Dubai, Istanbul, London,
New York and Stockholm who participated in an
online survey during May 2016.
The views expressed in the survey are representative
of 17 million smartphone users across the 5 cities.
3 THE ENGAGED CITIZEN
4 PERCEPTION VERSUS REALITY
5 ACTIVATING PERSONAL SAFETY
6 THE SMARTPHONE AS A SAFETY TOOL
8 EXPECTATIONS ON THE CITY
10 INNOVATING PUBLIC SAFETY
11 THE JOINT ROAD TO PUBLIC SAFETY
New York
London
Stockholm
Istanbul
Dubai

Public safety is a hot topic of debate both among citizens
and in the media, with the conversation revolving around
expectations of what authorities should do to keep
people safe.
While it is clear that citizens have high expectations on city
authorities and public safety agencies like the fire and rescue
service, ambulance, emergency medical services and police,
the engagement reaches beyond just raised voices. Citizens
are increasingly using the internet for their own personal
safety, and are now expecting authorities to be doing
the same.
By accessing and sharing information on the internet and
by using digital technology and apps on a broader scale,
citizens are closing the gap between personal and public safety.
This in turn, increases the pressure on city authorities to
engage in public safety through these same technologies.
The internet enables citizens to make better and more
informed decisions in general, and our research indicates
this is equally true for public safety. By using the internet
to become informed about personal safety, citizens may in
fact be collectively leading the way towards safer cities.
We asked smartphone users in Dubai, Istanbul, London,
NewYork and Stockholm about their perspectives on
safety in public; how they address their personal safety,
their expectations of city authorities and what role they see
technology playing when it comes to leading a safe city life.
ERICSSON CONSUMERLAB PUBLIC SAFETY GOES PERSONAL 3
THE ENGAGED
CITIZEN
key findings
Cities are not safe enough
Citizens actively engage
in personal safety
The smartphone safety paradox
Surveillance technology is welcome
but not at the cost of privacy
> The majority of citizens do not
perceive their city to be dangerous.
However, only one in three think
their city is actually safe
Dubai is the exception and shows
the opposite trend, with two in
three saying their city is safe
Around 40 percent feel
safer when out and about
with a smartphone
One in four think that having a
smartphone makes citizens less
risk-averse than they would
be otherwise
Three in four already use emergency
apps or functions on their smartphones,
and many express a high interest in
using more security apps
Citizens do not sit around waiting for
the city authorities. Personal safety
measures include video monitoring
of the house and neighborhood
watch schemes
Half of the smartphone users surveyed
would like to see more police and
surveillance technology in public places
Smartphone users worry about who is
watching them. Only 15 percent have
no privacy concerns about surveillance

Nevertheless, in all five cities smartphone users could see
room for improvement when it comes to safety. Based on
the findings in this report, it is clear that the cities are not
safe enough.
Threats that impact citizens’ sense of security
One interesting finding of the research is that citizens’
perception of the source of danger does not always match
up to the things they are actually most in danger from.
This is evident, for example, in the comparison between
crime and traffic accidents. Accidents are the most common
incident for people to have experienced or personally
witnessed, far more common than experiencing crimes,
and yet fear of crimes is higher than fear of accidents.
Furthermore, terrorist attacks show up alongside crime as
amongst the top three perceived threats in all cities. This may
be due to the perception of crime and terrorism as being
more out of the individual’s control and that both acts involve
another person knowingly wanting to hurt the victim. Both
these factors could make these incidents seem harder to
prepare for or prevent, and therefore a scarier prospect.
Nevertheless, perception of the severity of a particular
threat is just as important as consumers’ actual experiences.
For instance, the fear of terrorism still has a concrete effect
on behavior, with some people avoiding public places due
to worries about terrorist attacks. The perceived threats
thus need to be addressed as much as actual threats when
improving city safety, in order to ensure the population
feels safe.
Perception
versus reality
Most smartphone users appear to perceive their cities as,
if not safe, at least not dangerous. While typically only
1 in 3 thinks their city is actually safe, less than
10 percent think it is unsafe. Dubai is the exception,
where 70 percent think the city is safe.
Furthermore, in three of the five cities researched, citizens
perceived city life to have become safer over the past two
years. However, in Istanbul and Stockholm the perception of
city safety shows a negative trend. At the time of the study,
Istanbul had experienced several major terrorist attacks
which most likely affected the results. In Stockholm, a public
debate around worsening safety may have negatively affected
the general perception, despite a fall or stagnation in violent
crime over the last five years (Swedish National Council for
Crime Prevention, Swedish Crime Survey, 2015).
Figure 2: Positive and negative trends of safety
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab, Public Safety Goes Personal, 2016
Base: 3,500 smartphone users in Dubai, Istanbul, London, NewYork
and Stockholm
Much safer now
Dubai
Istanbul
London
NewYork
Neutral Much less safe now
Stockholm
Figure 1: Mixed feelings about safety in the city
Base: 3,500 smartphone users in Dubai, Istanbul, London, NewYork
and Stockholm
Safe
Dubai
Istanbul
London
NewYork
Neutral Not safe
Stockholm
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Activating
personal safety
Today, many citizens are taking the matter of personal safety
into their own hands by using internet-enabled services
and tools and engaging with their social networks. By using
the internet to make better informed decisions about their
personal safety, citizens are more able to estimate risk and
manage their own situation and circumstances. By engaging
with their social networks, they can contribute to the overall
safety of their community.
Keeping watch
Many smartphone users help keep an eye on the
local area through organizing neighborhood watches,
with 1 in 10 partaking in this type of scheme. Around
45 percent state that they are interested in doing so.
In the era of the sharing economy it is easy to see how an
interest in surveilling a shared neighborhood area could be
developed through social media, and there are already
many communities built around the collaborative thought
of “If you watch my doorstep, I’ll watch yours”. An example
is the Nextdoor service in the US.
Increased awareness
Having a camera to watch the front door is another way to
increase the feeling of safety. Our research shows this is most
common in NewYork, where almost one in five say they use
video monitoring to watch their house, street or garden.
This trend is set to increase further over the coming years
as interest is high in all markets and web cameras and IP
cameras are both affordable and easy to install. Around two
in five say they are interested in video monitoring of their street,
house or garden.
Aiding people in need
It was found that 1 in 10 partake in safety networks whereby
they receive alerts to aid people in need. With almost one
in two already interested in doing so, it might only need an
initiative and platform to gather around in order for a network
to become activated. One example is the Swedish citizens’
initiative Missing People, an organization where more than
40,000 people have registered as volunteers, aiding the
police to look for missing people when needed.

The smartphone is emerging as a key personal safety tool,
as it offers constant availability through calls or internet
access, and through the use of security functions or apps.
The use of these functions or apps is most evident amongst
smartphone users in NewYork and Istanbul.Three in four
already use emergency apps or functions on their
smartphones, and many express a high interest in using
more security apps.The most common across all markets
being the storing of emergency contacts and use of GPS
tracking to share one’s position (Figure 3).
There is also a high level of interest in new concepts and
services that could become available on the smartphone.
These include public warnings or mass broadcast
notifications allowing citizens to instantly receive emergency
information, and assault or emergency alarm apps with an
automatic emergency response (Figure 4).
Most smartphones also include quite sophisticated cameras,
which add an extra dimension to how the owner can respond
to security issues. For example, while the majority of people
will call the emergency services for aid if they were to witness
a severe car accident, many will also record photos or videos
from the accident which they can share with emergency
services to give them a better idea of the situation.
Previous research shows that smartphone users already
expect to be able to communicate with emergency services
through other means than voice, for instance, using video,
chat or even social media (Ericsson ConsumerLab,
10 Hot Consumer Trends, 2016).
Considering the rapidly developing interest in new security
apps and services, it is clear that the smartphone is yet to
reach its full potential as a security tool.
The smartphone
as a safety tool
The smartphone safety paradox
Even if people perceive that the smartphone has the
potential to unlock usage of more security apps and
services, it is clear that the smartphone’s role as a
safety tool is already widespread.
Around 40 percent of citizens agree that they feel safer when
out and about with a smartphone, as they have the option
to make an emergency call or look up information on the
internet at any time. Just imagine wandering through the
wrong neighborhood with your phone ready, versus having
no phone at all. A further 30 percent also agree that they
are more confident, would try different things and visit new
places when carrying a smartphone, compared to when they
don’t have their smartphone with them. About as many also
say that thanks to the smartphone they are less risk-averse.
This is especially evident in Dubai, NewYork and Istanbul.
But here is a paradox. As shown in Figure 5 the smartphone
can be a major asset in preventing emergencies or resolving
dangerous situations through the ability to make emergency
calls or access the internet. Being less risk-averse and more
adventurous thanks to the feeling of security a smartphone
brings, citizens may actually find themselves in more
dangerous situations than they would otherwise.
Trust in and reliance on the smartphone for safety
may also lead to an increased pressure on emergency
services, specifically in cases of smartphone users needing
assistance in emergencies that could have been avoided,
or caused by citizens overestimating their abilities.
The personal technology effect
The increasing use of new personal and internet-enabled
services may lead to higher expectations on authorities
to integrate with these services or even provide them
directly. Examples include apps that receive safety
information provided by the authorities and apps that
provide a safe walking companion service that can alert
emergency services if needed.
Figure 3: Use of smartphone security functions and apps
Base: 3,500 smartphone users in Dubai, Istanbul, London, NewYork and Stockholm
Dubai Istanbul London NewYork Stockholm
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Emergency contact
stored on the phone
GPS tracking, allowing selected
contacts to locate you
Civil warning or mass
broadcast notifications
GPS tracking, allowing you
to locate family members
Assault or emergency
alarm app

Figure 5: The smartphone safety paradox
40 percent of consumers believe that
smartphones bring a feeling of safety
when out and about, as they have
quick access to the internet and can
make emergency calls
Around 3 in 10 consumers dare
to do more things and visit more
places compared to when they
didn’t have a mobile phone
3 out of 10 think that having
a smartphone makes it possible
to avoid risky situations
One in four believe having a
smartphone makes them more
prone to take risks
Predicting where
accidents and
crimes are likely to
happen in your city
An app that provides
accurate real-time
information on what to do
in case of an emergency
Assault or emergency alarm
app with automatic response
An app that caters
for instant civil
warning or mass
broadcast notifications
Identify and share information
on taxis you are riding in
A safe walk app – a digital
assistant accompanying you
when walking in unsafe areas
An app that lets
you directly report
accidents or crimes
Keeping track of where
you have been spotted by
surveillance technology
Live video chat while
walking in unsafe areas
46%
47%
47%
39%
38%
44%
36%
35%
37%
Figure 4: Interest in various public safety apps and smartphone functions

Expectations
on the city
Even though citizens are increasingly taking responsibility
for their own safety through personal technology, they still
have high expectations on city authorities and public safety
agencies to increase public safety.
The signs of safety
The level of public lighting and the number of visible
police are the two top factors dictating how safe citizens
feel (Figure 6). These are also perceived to be highly
present in the city. Elderly citizens and families in particular
rate police presence as the most important factor in
improving their perception of safety.
This clearly shows that city authorities need to consider
both the design and lighting of public areas, for example,
as well as the presence of security and emergency personnel,
in order to promote a feeling of safety.
Comfort in information
In addition to improving the physical environment, citizens
also have high expectations of the amount of information
they receive. In previous research, communication with
the city authorities was identified as one of the major
dissatisfaction areas that citizens experience in the city
(Ericsson ConsumerLab, Smartphones Change Cities, 2013).
In case of major incidents such as a serious fire or car
accident with multiple casualties, most citizens will seek
updates and information through traditional media, whether
online or on TV. In addition, many smartphone users will try
to find out more through their social media networks.
When it comes to what type of information citizens want
to receive, terrorism ranks as a high-concern subject, even
compared to the interest in information on crime, although
crime is perceived as the greatest threat in the majority of
the cities. One explanation for the perceived need for citizens
to be up to date on terrorism is that the unfolding risk of
global terrorist attacks is rather new and difficult to predict
compared to crime, and many people are affected in
each attack.
In general, the interest in getting information from the
authorities on a regular basis is evident. Information may
concern security measures being implemented to the
whereabouts of emergency personnel, indicating
that there is an expectation for the city to connect and
share more information with its citizens online and on
social networks.
Figure 6: Public security elements – perceived presence
and impact on feeling of safety
Public lighting and numbers
of visible police are the top
factors dictating how safe
citizens feel
Perceived presence
Impactonfeelingofsafety
Military
Volunteers
Neighborhood watch groups
Private security guards
Security guards from national authorities
Workers (manual laborers)
Health or medical professionals
Stores that are always open
Other citizens
Street lights
CCTV
Police

The usage of emergency technology
Citizens have high expectations of public safety agencies when
it comes to the implementation of different types of technology
to complement the physical presence of emergency personnel.
For example, half the respondents stated that in the event
of a severe car accident, they would use emergency phones
and defibrillators if they were available. As a comparison,
only 5 percent said they would not use such devices if
they were available.
A real-world demonstration of this is the SMS
Livraddare (SMS-lifesavers) pilot project in Stockholm.
SMS Lifesavers is an interesting project in which SMS
are sent to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) trained
civilians in the vicinity to assist in starting CPR before the
ambulance arrives.
Concerning CCTV
While there are many cases where citizens approve of
closed-circuit television (CCTV), and many feel safer with
it implemented (Figure 7), it’s important to note that its
presence does not create this feeling for everyone.
Take London – a city well known for the implementation
of video monitoring. While many citizens are aware of the
presence of CCTV, not all of them stated that CCTV
increases their feeling of safety. This illustrates that there
is not a one-to-one relationship between the presence of
safety technology and the actual feeling of safety.
Privacy concerns
When it comes to surveillance, there is generally an
uncertainty and, in many cases, a concern over who is
watching and why (Figure 8). Most respondents, however,
approve of video monitoring if the footage is used for crime,
accident prevention and investigation (Figure 7).
Citizens generally believe the footage belongs to either the city,
the government or the police, but one in three stated they are
concerned over who is watching.
Furthermore, many feel that video monitoring is an intrusion on
their privacy. In fact, only 15 percent are not at all concerned
about surveillance data potentially being used to undermine
their privacy. Hence there is a clear need for increased
transparency when it comes to surveillance technology.
As safety threats are real, public safety and security agencies
need to manage this threat whilst ensuring privacy is not
being invaded.
Figure 7: Citizen approval levels for different uses of closed-circuit television (CCTV)
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Prevent terrorist attacks 63%
Crime investigation 62%
Crime prevention 59%
Accident investigation 59%
Accident prevention 53%
Traffic monitoring 52%
Survey an area in real time 45%
Identify people using automatic facial recognition 41%
Sharing with all authorities 38%
Research on municipality development 36%
Made public for anyone to access 27%
Storing with no particular purpose 26%
Sharing for marketing or sales purposes 20%
Figure 8: Key concerns over the usage
of closed-circuit television (CCTV)
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
Personal information
will be made public online
Footage will be stored without
citizens’ knowledge
Not knowing how
footage will be used
Data will be used to
undermine privacy
Not knowing who is watching
CCTV footage may be
falsely incriminating
The feeling of being
watched and controlled
Only 15 percent of citizens are not
concerned that surveillance would
undermine their privacy
26%
29%
35%
38%
38%
38%
39%

Innovating
public safety
As people see there is room for improving the city’s public
safety, there is an expectation that new technologies will
contribute to this improvement.
Almost half of the respondents would be interested in smart
video monitoring that could recognize suspicious behavior,
or identify wanted criminals or missing people through facial
recognition (Figure 9). About the same amount of people also
feel positively about the implementation of crime prediction
systems and drones that can maintain surveillance over
an area or aid in emergencies. The interest is especially
noticeable in Istanbul and Dubai, whereas citizens in
London and Stockholm are more hesitant.
One reason for citizens to be open to new technology
is because they see the personal benefit of a whole city
becoming more secure. At the same time, while technology
like surveillance drones, facial recognition or crime prediction
technology may increase a feeling of safety for some, it may
also feel very intrusive to others.
The new risks of online tools
The border between personal and public safety is blurring
as citizens and public safety providers adopt connected
online tools.
For example, someone posting a status update about an
accident on a commuter train to their social network can
help others take alternate routes to avoid the accident.
A public safety authority might equally use the same
channel to share information.
This development also increases the risk of invasion of
privacy. For example, when eyewitness photos of accidents
are posted on social networks they can unintentionally
publish the identity of someone who would prefer to
stay anonymous. An additional potential risk of citizens
filming emergencies is that it may prevent rescue personnel
from doing their job in some cases.
Figure 9: Interest in new safety technology
Citizens see the personal
benefit of a whole city
becoming more secure with
the help of new technology
CCTV and cameras
with facial recognition
that could identify
wanted criminals or
missing people
Medical drones that
could alert or aid you
in emergencies
Using predictive technology
to identify potential criminal
activity and prevent crimes
before they happen
Smart video monitoring
that alerts authorities
when it detects
anything suspicious
47%
47% 44%44%

The joint road
to public safety
By using information on
social networks for their
own safety, citizens also
contribute to the
safety of others
Citizens seeing the internet
as a means for personal
safety opens up routes
for interaction
with authorities Privacy concerns over
new security technology
mean authorities
need to become
more transparent
People are already using the internet and connected devices
to increase their personal safety, and the interest is growing.
It is also clear that citizens contribute to the overall safety of
a city, and that this is a trend that will continue to develop.
Thereby, it is evident that cities have a lot to gain by listening
to and learning from their citizens. In this study we have
identified three areas for city authorities and public safety
agencies to build upon the already established behaviors
and expectations of the citizens.
Information
Access to information is key in influencing the decisions
citizens make in their everyday lives. Whether it comes down
to accident prevention, terrorism alerts or the proximity of
emergency services, if citizens know where to access and
obtain information, they are likely to make use of it. As many
citizens seek out information online or through social media
channels, utilizing apps and social media for communication
could increase the flow of information between city authorities
and citizens. One example is the America’s Missing:
Broadcast Emergency Response (AMBER) alert service in the
US, whereby mobile subscribers within a specific area are
alerted in the event of a child abduction.
Interactivity
As citizens are increasingly using personal technology to
improve their safety, changing behaviors will put different
expectations on the city authorities.
Learning how citizens want to communicate or share
information could open a path for greater citizen participation,
e.g. citizens sharing video footage from accidents in order to
provide authorities with information before they deploy the
emergency response team.
Transparency
Intrusive new technology may also drive even more concern
over privacy. With new security systems that are able to
identify citizens through facial recognition or by deploying
predictive methods using collected data to combat crime,
the amount of sensitive information gathered is also likely
to increase.
As there are already concerns over who is watching
and why, there is a need for authorities to become
more transparent with their usage as well as how they
are following guidelines and regulations. As seen in
previous research, smartphone users are aware that most
internet-enabled technology can be hacked, thus security
measures to protect data will be of high importance to
ensure the public’s trust in public safety technology
(Ericsson ConsumerLab, 10 Hot ConsumerTrends, 2016).

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© Ericsson AB 2016
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