Force throws the iBook at criminals
North Yorkshire Police has become the first UK force to publish an iBook to help keep its communities safe from criminals.
North Yorkshire Police has become the first UK force to publish an iBook to help keep its communities safe from criminals.
The innovative iBook, which is called Securing Your Home, features 60 pages of crime-prevention advice and can be downloaded from the iTunes store or the North Yorkshire Police website.
The interactive book contains hundreds of tips on how residents can protect their home, including chapters on bogus callers, burglary prevention, property marking, vehicle security and rural crime.
Other useful features include videos from officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) discussing their top crime-prevention tips, links to useful online resources such as Immobilise.com (the UK National Property Register and Recovery Service) and an interactive safety checklist to help make the home as safe as possible.
There is also detailed technical information available about doors, windows, lighting and burglar alarms.
The iBook is compatible with the Apple iPad and iPad Mini and will soon be available for the iPhone and Android devices.
North Yorkshire Polices digital media officer Tom Stirling designed the iBook that was produced at no cost to the force.
He said: We are always looking for new, innovative ways to communicate with the public and get crime-prevention messages across in the most effective way possible.
Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have enabled us to reach our communities instantly, 24 hours a day, to keep them informed and a lot of people are receptive to online communications.
With this in mind, we thought that by publishing an iBook all our tips to keep criminals at bay can be accessed in one place whenever people need some advice.
With 30 per cent of all burglaries in North Yorkshire down to properties being left unsecured, the force hopes that residents will download the iBook and take the necessary steps to secure their homes.
Temporary Chief Constable Tim Madgwick said: As a force, our main concern is the safety of our communities and protecting them from people who commit crime.
An awful lot of work has gone into preventing burglaries across North Yorkshire and the city of York but residents and businesses have a part to play too.
The iBook is an extremely useful tool, which people can use to ensure their properties are as well secured as they can be, and I am pleased that the force is leading the way in digital communications, yet again.
Most of the suggestions in Securing Your Home are practical, common sense and dont cost much but they can make a real difference. Some of the advice is specific to the city of York and North Yorkshire, but the vast majority should apply anywhere in the UK.
