Cayman Islands: RCIPS Neighbourhood Police Officers Introduce ‘Community Bridge’ Mobile App

From RCIPS

The RCIPS is introducing a new way to communicate with Neighbourhood Officers about concerns and suggestions people may have about how to improve public safety and reduce crime in their neighbourhoods.

A mobile app, called “Community Bridge” can now be downloaded to any mobile phone or tablet through a button on the RCIPS webpage at www.rcips.ky. (see attached download instructions) The app prompts users to fill out a very straightforward form, to which phone photos and videos can also be attached.  It then sends the form and photos, if any, to the RCIPS Neighbourhood Policing Department at [email protected] from the user’s email.

The objective of the Community Bridge app is to allow the public to send information to Neighbourhood officers about issues in their area, and in general, news they think the police should know about.  However, the mobile app should not be used to report emergencies or crimes, and it is not anonymous.

“The point of the Bridge app is to open up a channel of communication between the police and the community, and to build a relationship based in two-way information and problem-solving,” said Sergeant Sean Lloyd-Hickey, Head of Neighbourhood Policing, “in order to do that we need to have a way to reach those who reach out to us. We want to report back to you on the issue you raised, and we can also discuss solutions together.”

Neighbourhood officers say that any information about issues affecting the overall safety or healthy atmosphere of a community is welcome.  This could range from suspicious activity to unleashed dogs to road hazards.  Though the app is not anonymous, Neighbourhood Officers will still hold the information provided in confidence unless indicated otherwise.

“Again, this is not a substitute for 9-1-1 or filing a police report.  This is another way of communicating with police; it is about information sharing and problem-solving together with neighbourhood officers,” added Sergeant Lloyd –Hickey.

Those who submit information through the Bridge app will receive a response within 72 hours.  Some features of the app (such as the attaching of video) may function slightly differently on iPhones versus Android phones

NOTE:

Just by way of explaining the below a little further, the way you “download” the app is through adding it to the home screen.   The term “download” may not be the most accurate in that case.  This is not an App that is obtained through an App store, obviously.

On Android phones , you would first click on the Bridge button on our site, and then when it takes you to the front page of the app, you would tap “More” at the top and then tap  “Add shortcut to Home Screen”.