Armenia to introduce single emergency response number -112

ArmInfo.  Armenia will introduce a single emergency response number-112. The draft resolution on the urgent approval and consideration of the draft law on amendments to  the law on police and related laws  was approved by the Armenian  Cabinet of Ministers on December 11.

As Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Armen Mkrtchyan stated, having  separate phone numbers for different emergency situations causes  confusion for citizens, especially in stressful situations.  Management and coordination issues have been regularly recorded,  including disagreements over the roles of services, fragmented  information, and insufficient operational communication. These issues  in some cases have led led to delayed responses, slower  decision-making, and a weakening of situational control.

 The project proposes creating a single command center (the  Operational Management Office within the Ministry of Internal  Affairs) for all emergency situations, with a single number. This  office will replace the MIA Operational Management Center and the  National Crisis Management Center at the Rescue Service.

The  existing  numbers 102, 911, and 101 will continue to operate  during the gradual implementation process, and will automatically  redirect calls  to 112. Eventually, these numbers will be phased out.

Mkrtchyan noted that the new system will reduce the average response  time to 10 seconds, reduce the average response time to 10 minutes,  more accurately locate alarms, and implement modern automatic  notification mechanisms. He added that in the future, emergency  medical service calls will also be integrated into the 112 system.  However, this process requires technical and institutional  improvements in the second phase.