Portugal: eGuard

The GNR’s proximity to the community enables effective relationships of collaboration between the citizens and military personnel. These relationships reinforce equality, legitimacy and mutual trust, ensuring more active civic participation in the diagnosis, effective resource mobilisation, joint efforts and resolution to local safety-related problems. In this context, this project was created to provide dedicated support to the most vulnerable groups within the population, namely isolated elderly people, in guaranteeing a response to their needs from specialist state services. Through the creation of a service network and taking advantage of the synergies among the different institutions, it was possible to set up a georeferencing and bidirectional communication system that meets the security, social and health protection needs. It simultaneously addresses difficulties such as identifying the victim’s location and contacting people who do not have mobile phones, among others.

The field-testing phase of the eGuard project began in February 2020, the project is still running.