The "Police" shortcut will discreetly direct your phone to turn down distractions, send an alert to an emergency contact, and start recording the next time you get pulled over.
"Hey Siri, I'm getting pulled over."
A new iPhone app called Shortcuts allows users to create their own verbal commands, triggering their phone to perform tasks all without pressing a button or touching the screen. The commands are fully customizable.
Now, Reddit user Robert Peterson has created and publicly released a new Shortcuts add-on called "Police."
With "Police," the phrase "Hey Siri, I'm getting pulled over" will discreetly tell your phone to turn down distractions, send an alert to an emergency contact, and start recording.
Petersen says he created "Police" to give drivers an added sense of security.
"I have noticed in reading news articles and seeing reports on TV that in many cases you end up with police saying one thing happened and the citizen being pulled over saying another,” Petersen told USA TODAY. “And how do you determine truth? Sometimes the police have body cams, sometimes not, and even when they do it’s not always released in a timely manner.”
On Reddit, Petersen explains that when it hears "Hey Siri, I'm getting pulled over," the "Police" app launches a series of actions.
The first is to eliminate distractions. The app turns off your music, dims the screen brightness, and turns on Do Not Disturb so you won't get notifications during the encounter.
“When dealing with being pulled over and interacting with law enforcement, you want as little distraction as possible, and that includes music, bright screens and notifications coming in,” Petersen explained in an interview with USA TODAY. “You want to be focused on the encounter at hand and don’t want any unnecessary distraction to yourself or to law enforcement personnel.”
The next thing the app does is send a message to an emergency contact of your choice. The text includes a pre-written message saying you got pulled over and your current location. (An update to the app now includes an address.)
All of this takes place in seconds.
Next, the app opens the front camera on your phone to start recording when the encounter begins. Unfortunately, due to limitations with Shortcuts, the app won't start recording on its own, and users still need to press a "record" button. However, due to the app's dimming of screen brightness, the fact that you're recording won't be readily visible.
Once you choose to end the recording, the "Police" shortcut will send a copy of the video to a contact of your choice. It also allows you the option to upload the video to Dropbox or Google Drive. Then, it turns off Do Not Disturb, and your phone goes back to normal.
On Reddit, users noted that the shortcut could also have other uses.
"One woman planned on using the shortcut to help with a stalker issue she was having with an ex-boyfriend so that she could send her location to family quickly should anything occur," Petersen said.
Petersen says he created it to keep police honest, and drivers feeling safe. However, he hopes that most of the time the shortcut won't be necessary.
“But if you end up in a situation where it ended up being a good idea, you’ll be thankful you did,” he said.
