Christchurch Gets Ready

Privacy Policy

Your privacy is really important. The general public have no access to the information stored in ‘Gets Ready’. They can see this policy and frequently asked questions. No more.

(This statement isn’t quite true for the database as it stands on 10 July 2017. We have had a policy that allows the general public to find for each Contact – ie the coordinator of a group… their name, group name and land-line number. A little less information than a phone book would give. We are changing – (within 10 days) to everyone set to fully private and Contacts in the future will be able to choose to allow this sharing of name, street group name and land-line number).

However, Gets Ready is designed to share information in a planned and carefully controlled way.

Area Contacts at a township or suburb level, have roles in Gets Ready. Before we get to roles for Area Contacts, those running Gets Ready may choose to seek Police checks on Area Contacts (and/or other levels) in Gets Ready. That is decided at Admin level in each installation.

So Contacts at each level are able to-

  • See and update the information stored about those beneath them in the tree structure of Area (Township or Suburb); Sub-area and street group.
  • Communicate with ‘their people’ or some of them via email (normally) and in emergency situations, via text messages.
  • For example Contacts can find in Gets Ready all those listed as having a portable water tanker.  Gets Ready will show locations on a map, and will allow the Contact to send a message requesting assistance from those having that resource or skill. Likewise those needing continual power – eg those on bottled oxygen can be noted, mapped and treated as urgent by community and emergency services. That kind of search is normally managed at Area level.
  • Remember – you share only the information you would like people to know. That information maybe shared to allow you to help others or be helped.

Communication also goes up the system towards a local Council or Civil Defence authority. A formal structure for that kind of information sharing during an emergency is built in and called a SitRep – or Situation Report. This allows contacts to send a formal report – from a computer or smart phone complete with GPS location and photos.

By the way, your passwords are encrypted so no-one can see your password. You, as a user, get to reset your own password.

Finally Contacts can choose to edit extra information and make their landline, name and street group public information. By default that is not available.