New text messaging service launched
Police in Coventry have launched an innovative new text messaging service which allows members of the public to text them with information about people they suspect of committing crime.
Police in Coventry have launched an innovative new text messaging service which allows members of the public to text them with information about people they suspect of committing crime.
In what is believed to be the first dedicated text messaging service of its kind in the country, members of the public can text West Midlands Police on 64321 and leave officers a message.
Linked to the text messaging service, a new website has been launched which allows the public to provide information online about those suspected of being involved in crime.
As part of the same initiative, Witness Care Units in Coventry will be sending text messages to victims and witnesses, giving them details of the officer in their case, a crime reference number and witness warning updates.
Superintendent Keith Wilson, from Little Park Street police station, said: The main aim of this project is to increase peoples confidence in the criminal justice system. We believe we can do this by bringing more people to justice and by keeping victims and witnesses better informed.
Texting offers the opportunity to improve the service we offer to members of the public by improving access and opening up new ways of contact. Hopefully, this will result in more information about people suspected of committing crime.
He said the use of text messaging would be in addition to the existing, traditional ways of contacting the police, and victims and witnesses would be offered a choice of how they wished to be kept informed. He added that all three initiatives would be evaluated at the end of the six-month pilot.
The initiatives are part of a joint project launched by the Coventry Local Criminal Justice Group (LCJG), which is made up of representatives from: West Midlands Police, the Courts Service, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Probation Service, the Youth Offending Service and HM Prison Service.
The pilot was launched last month with a Get Caught, Go to Court pledge which aims to put adults found in possession of a knife or bladed weapon in Coventry before the courts.