Facewatch has been launched in Basingstoke. It’s an online crime reporting system for businesses and police and lets the public help identify suspects for crimes in the Festival Place shopping centre in the Hampshire town, using the Facewatch ID smartphone app.
People can view images on their smartphone or a computer and nominate names of people they recognise at the click of a button. Information can be submitted through Facewatch or anonymously via Crimestoppers.
Police officers and staff can view the images on their Blackberry phones.
The images are uploaded by the police onto the site and are then searchable when the user inputs their postcode into the front screen. They can then select a radius of up to five miles from the postcode and will be able to view all of the images connected to incidents in the selected area. Or, the app has GPS functionality, enabling the user to view images relating to their current location, even if they do not know the post code.
If a person recognises somebody from an image they can enter the name and address of the person and send those details immediately and anonymously to the police.
The Facewatch app works on all smart phones and is free to download from the Apple App Store, Android Google Play and BlackBerry App World. It is also available through the Facewatch website.
Basingstoke Town police Insp Marcus Cator said: “The ability to access information instantly on mobile phones and through real time communications is part of modern life and as a force we recognise the need to ensure we are maximising our opportunities to provide information to the public so they can play an active role in helping us to detect crime.
“This app allows people to view images when and where they like, and if they recognise someone they can send a response immediately. It also allows us to work closely with our business communities to tackle retail crime more effectively.”
Steven Connolly, Centre Director, said: “We are delighted to support an initiative which proactively works to lessen retail crime. Festival Place has a great variety of shops and is a safe place to visit both day and night. Facewatch will enable our customers to play an active role in identifying suspects and ensuring the centre remains a secure place to spend leisure time.”
Michael O’Sullivan, from Facewatch, said: “We are extremely pleased that Festival place and Hampshire Police have launched the Facewatch ID App.
“The App has been highly successful both in London and Surrey and as each new police force introduces the system, both the public and officers are able to work together more effectively to make our communities safer.”
