Staffordshire’s ‘Kash Dash’ app helps keep children safe online

A new mobile app aims to help youngsters stay safe online via onscreen messaging about cyber-bullying, stranger danger and privacy settings.

With gameplay similar to the popular mobile game ‘Flappy Birds’, useful links also provide information about local police and an option to sign up to email alerts. At the end of each round, the player gets a score that might see them promoted to a higher police rank.

The ‘Kash Dash’ app, which has been designed by the office of Staffordshire’s police and crime commissioner (PCC) and features police dogs Emma and Jasper and former police dog and force mascot Kash, had more than 1,000 downloads in the first week it was available with more than 2,000 visits to websites giving safety advice, such as the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), Beat Bullying and the Facebook Safety Centre.

PCC Matthew Ellis said: “We must find ways to better connect youngsters with information on how to stay safe online. Rather than asking them to find their way to us, this game takes vital safety messages to them using technology which is familiar.

“We need to be smarter in how we engage with youngsters and this new game will do that while communicating clear messages to help protect them. It’s fun but includes serious messages.”

Temporary Chief Constable Jane Sawyers said: “Online safety is increasingly a major concern for parents and educating children in this area is a priority for the force. Police dogs are always popular with pupils when they visit schools as part of our work in local communities so combining them with online safety messages is a winning combination.”

The app can be downloaded for free on Apple and Android devices via http://bit.ly/kashdash