WA Police (WAPOL), which has faced significant criticism for their treatment of Indigenous people this year, has tapped Microsoft partner Modis to develop a language app in the hope it will improve law enforcement’s interactions with First Nations People.
WAPOL's Aboriginal Affairs Division collaborated with the WA Government’s Aboriginal Mediation Service and its Department of Communities, the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA, and several Aboriginal Elders in the development of the Yarning App.
The app aims to break communication barriers with WA’s Aboriginal communities who collectively speak more than 60 languages.
Language barriers have historically worsened the accessibility of public and social services to indigenous people, and the agencies said they hoped the Yarning App would also improve indigenous people’s engagement with law enforcement, which has been a point of scrutiny this year.
Late last month a WAPOL officer shot an Aboriginal man armed with knives in the remote town Pingelly, after unusually attending the scene alone, and another indigenous man died in a Perth prison. This followed the WA Coroner slamming WAPOL in a report this year on the death in custody of Noongar Yamatji woman Cherdeena Wynne.
Modis said it was currently working with WAPOL to add a new feature to the Yarning App specifically about rights in custody.
WAPOL officers and staff said they developed a prototype mobile app that was trialled in the Pilbara police district in March 2021, before engaging Modis in June 2021 to productionise the mobile app and create a desktop version built on Microsoft Power Platform.
Modis Australia interim senior vice president Peter Hawkins said it launch the full version of Yarning in six weeks.
“We were able to design features collaboratively in workshops, and deploy them instantly to officers in the field with existing Microsoft Office 365 E5 licences. And if amendments were needed, we could easily update the app and deploy a new version instantly
The Microsoft partner also leveraged Power Platform to develop a back-end management tool that allows police officers to independently add new languages, phrases and regions as the use of the app grows.
Yarning currently supports eight Aboriginal languages, with a further three to be added in 2022. Modis is also working with WAPOL to add new sections to Yarning on cultural protocols and youth language phrases.
In addition, Modis used Microsoft Teams to manage development sprints and tasks, as well as share links and sound files. This enabled quick and effective collaboration between members of its development team during the project.
WAPOL commissioner Col Blanch said that the Yarning app had enabled officers to communicate healthcare messages during the pandemic and deliver emergency warnings and road safety messages to Aboriginal communities.
“The Yarning app is the first of its kind in Australia. By providing key messages in Aboriginal languages, we are being fair and showing our care for Aboriginal people.”
Aboriginal Interpreting WA CEO Dee Lightfoot said Yarning was prompting more Aboriginal people to use the interpreting service. It had experienced a 25 percent increase in requests for assistance since the app’s launch.
“Aboriginal languages have been invisible for quite some time and this application illuminates to our community that it is okay to communicate in Aboriginal languages.”
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