EyesOn reaches membership milestone

More than 500 people have now signed up for EyesOn, a digital app for reporting rural crimes, since Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones launched it earlier this year.

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight community is free to join and allows people with a business connection to rural or wildlife environments to quickly and easily report incidents as well as receiving direct rural policing updates.

EyesOn is a bespoke tool which can be used to report information about a crime, anti-social behaviour and suspicious activity affecting rural neighbourhoods.

Since it launched in March, more than 500 members have signed up, 188 crime reports have been made directly into police and there have been 215 articles and alerts published by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary.

Members of the app have gained policing updates, news, crime prevention advice and community partner updates.

The app obtains details from the start and ensures members do not have to repeatedly submit all their personal details again with each report, as these are already recorded.

EyesOn has been funded by Donna Jones, who said: “Reporting and policing rural crime has not always been easy, which is why it is pleasing to see so many people joining our Hampshire EyesOn Community.

“The processing of crime reports by the digital app allows for more effective frontline policing in our countryside. Since I launched the app earlier this year, EyesOn has already helped to make rural areas across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight safer places to live and work.”

Country Watch Rural Crime Task Force Inspector Cath MacDonald said: “EyesOn continues to be a fantastic platform which brings our rural communities together with police in one accessible and easy to manage space.

“This not only allows us to update those communities with crucial information and reassurance about rural crime and policing in their local area, including police activity across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, but also enables members to report information to us directly through the app.

“This has been an effective development and makes reporting rural crime to police easier and quicker for members. EyesOn is making a real difference to how we build intelligence and engage with our communities, whilst ensuring rural policing is more accessible to the public.”

Gareth Lewis from UKPAC, who has supported the development of the EyesOn app, said: “Reaching 500 members is a fantastic milestone and a credit to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary’s rural policing team, the Police and Crime Commissioner, and the rural communities who have embraced EyesOn.

“As the first police force in the UK to adopt the app, Hampshire has shown leadership in making rural policing more accessible. The 188 crime reports submitted through EyesOn demonstrate its practical value, helping people report incidents through a process designed around rural crime and giving police the details they need from the outset. Alongside this, regular news, alerts and prevention advice help keep communities informed and connected.

“Rural communities deserve to feel heard, supported and able to reach their police force wherever they live or work. With the support of the NFU, and discussions already under way with several other forces, our ambition is to establish EyesOn Rural in every rural county across the UK.”

EyesOn is designed for businesses and the people within them in rural areas such as farmers, gamekeepers and rural estate owners.

Members are part of a private Hampshire rural community within the app.

Download EyesOn through the app store on your phone, or apply to free membership here: https://eyesonapp.com/download/