Businesses and workers in rural areas are being urged to sign up to a new free app designed to improve communication with police and combat crime.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary is encouraging those with links to rural communities to download the new EyesOn app, funded by the Police and Crime Commissioner.
The app is described as the first of its kind for rural areas, providing a digital platform for reporting crime and sharing information directly with officers. It also includes a secure messaging function, allowing communication between police and approved local users.
EyesOn replaces the previous DISC system, which had been used to share alerts and intelligence among those involved in rural and wildlife sectors, including farmers, gamekeepers and landowners.
The new platform enables users to submit information in a police-compliant format, while built-in analytics help identify trends and support targeted policing. It also uses “what3words” locations instead of postcodes, allowing for more accurate mapping in remote areas.
Inspector Cath MacDonald, who leads the Country Watch Rural Crime Task Force, said:
“Organised criminals continue to blight the Hampshire and Isle of Wight countryside, and significantly impact the lives of hardworking communities living in isolated and rural areas.
“As a Constabulary we supported the previous DISC system for a number of years, during which time we formed a community of 1000 members who shared information and reported crime directly to police.
Article continues below this advertisement “Now is the point for a refresh and an update to how we are doing this. Drawing from community feedback, we have worked with UKPAC to develop the bespoke EyesOn app that will deliver what we now need from a rural two-way engagement platform.
“EyesOn gives police and the community a much more user-friendly interface, making it quicker and easier to report crimes and incidents, and then to get that information to the right local policing team.
“The app’s analytics will help us to identify problems, trends and how best to target a police response, adding to the impact our Rural Crime Task Force are already having across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
“We want to be in the right areas at the right times to target rural criminality, and this app will be another important tool helping us to do that.”
Police say the app is being rolled out more widely following an initial launch phase prioritising former DISC users.
Those eligible – including rural businesses, workers and partner agencies – can join a private community within the app once approved.
Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones added:
“EyesOn is a revolutionary new app which will be a game changer in the fight against rural crime for our countryside communities and local police.
“I am delighted to be supporting and funding the EyesOn project, so that our rural communities can access it for free and share news, risks and concerns as well as images and CCTV footage of offences being committed and the damage left behind.
“We have already seen great success with our retail-focused app, UKPAC. Thanks to that initiative we are now one of the top police forces in the country for dealing with shoplifting offences. I look forward to seeing EyesOn have a similar impact on tackling rural crimes.”
Residents are reminded to continue calling 999 in emergencies or when a crime is in progress.
Very commendable, very worth while and a great scheme, but, now a deterrent needs to be added.
We live in a world of Apps, but unless strong laws are
dished out, Apps don’t resolve anything.
Look how many persons keep speeding, keep driving whilst
disqualified.
Look how many people let their dogs foul pavements etc and
don’t clear up their mess.
CCTV and APPS only work if the law backs it up!