Obviously, our social media efforts over the past few years have tremendously increased our contacts within the communities we protect. For the past several months, our Public Affairs Branch has been working to expand our outreach to new levels by developing a new app for mobile devices. This new social media platform enables us to provide a wide range of services to citizens of the Commonwealth and across the United States.
This new app had already been downloaded 1200 times before we formally announced its release at a press conference earlier this week. Built on a robust platform, it offers numerous services to the end user. It allows citizens the ability to report crimes, access a multitude of forms and send us confidential tips in various formats. For instance, the photo icon allows the user to take a photo of something suspicious and send it to our agency immediately.
The ‘See Something, Say Something’ voice memo icon enables a citizen to record information about potential criminal activity and forward the recording to us. This reporting mechanism could assist us in solving a multitude of crimes and provide invaluable intelligence, particularly on homeland security issues. Additionally, the ‘Crime Tip Form’ icon provides a text field for citizens to forward information about criminal behavior in their neighborhood or workplace.
Additional information is provided concerning traffic, weather conditions, forms, CCDW, sexual offender registry, Kentucky’s Most Wanted, and links to our other social media outlets. This app is so sophisticated that it allows us to send push messages to a specific geo area from our headquarters building. The uses of this feature allow us to target a select group of people to notify during a prison escape, traffic back up or an Amber Alert. It also allows the user to pinpoint their exact location should they be lost or not familiar with their surroundings before calling the nearest KSP Post. The app is free and available to anyone with a mobile device.
The global smartphone audience totaled 1.75 billion users in 2014 and will overtake fixed internet usage this year. Statistics tell us that 82% of mobile phone use is spent utilizing a mobile app. I urge you to spread the word about this amazing new technology as we continue to advance our efforts to remain immersed in the communities we serve.
Download it today at ‘KSPOLICE’ on your iPhone, iPad, and Android phone.
