EyesOn app strengthens fight against rural crime
© Purple Pitch PR A new rural crime app that allows farmers and the police to directly connect with each other has resulted in 104 incidents being reported by users in the seven months since it went live.
“EyesOn”, a new technology currently being trialled by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, has also allowed the police to issue 56 alerts since February.
It is a system that could one day be employed in other counties in the fight against rural crime.
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The new app has a secure “chat” option to enable direct contact between its users and police, providing a conduit for farmers, landowners and other approved users to warn of any suspicious activity and to report it, and to share intelligence and digital evidence directly with the police.
It was developed by UK Partners Against Crime (UKPAC) working alongside the NFU.
The platform is secure because those who want access must be approved by the local police force before they are admitted to the network to rule out the risk of people pretending to be farmers and others from gaining access to potentially sensitive local intelligence.
The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Hampshire and Isle of Wight, Donna Jones, says rural crime is a key priority.
“Across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, our beautiful countryside is all too often blighted by the damage caused by criminal activity,” she said.
“Organised gangs target these areas and businesses, and it is threatening to put many rural sites out of business.”
She describes the app as a “game changer”.
“My message to the criminal gangs moving across our wonderful two counties is that we’ve got our EyesOn you, and we are coming after you,” she said.
Inspector Cath MacDonald, who heads Hampshire Constabulary’s Rural Crime Task Force, believes the app is making a positive difference to further strengthening policing in rural areas.
“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,” she said.