New Community Alert System Launched

Have you ever seen a police car pass by only to discover the road ahead is closed? Or heard a rumour about a run of crime on your street and wished you had known about it sooner? 

Humberside Police has today launched a new community alert system to enable residents, businesses and community groups to participate in an exchange of information about what is happening in their local area.
The new system, called My Community Alert, allows residents to register to receive real time messages about incidents happening in their neighbourhood that may affect them or their family.
Residents can choose how they would like to receive messages - by text, voicemail or email - how often they would like to receive them and about the issues that matter to them, from collisions and road closures to missing people.

Scott Young, Assistant Chief Constable, Humberside Police said: “We know how crucial information and hyper-local intelligence received from members of the public can be in preventing and detecting crime and anti-social behaviour.

“The introduction of My Community Alert, alongside our existing social media, will further improve our engagement with the public.

“As part of our trial of the system we’ve seen some really positive results. A message was sent out about vehicle crime and within five minutes a local resident rang to say that he had CCTV footage that may be of help, which he brought straight into the station.

“The introduction of My Community Alert is an important step forward for us in working with communities to empower them and enlisting their support to work with us to tackle crime.

“We’re asking residents to get on board by signing up to My Community Alert so that together we can work to create safer, stronger communities.”
The project has been funded by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and is currently used by a number of other Police Forces across the country which have seen positive results.

Keith Hunter, Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside, said: “I’m very pleased to be able to fund My Community Alert which will give residents a fast and easy way to keep up to date with crime and safety information where they live.

“One of the aims of my Police and Crime Plan for the area is to improve communication between the police and the communities they serve. My Community Alert will bring neighbourhood officers closer to their residents and give communities more power in highlighting the issues that matter to them.”

Humberside Police officers has been raising awareness of the scheme out in communities to encourage residents, businesses and groups to sign up to the alerts. For more information or to sign up to start receiving alerts visit www.mycommunityalert.co.uk