Rural Business Communities – Get the EyesOn app!

We’re encouraging people with a business connection to rural Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to sign up to the free EyesOn app, which has been created with funding from the Police and Crime Commissioner.

EyesOn is the first rural application of its kind, offering a digital solution to filing crime reports as well as a secure ‘chat’ function between groups of local users and police. 

Information is sent to officers in a police compliant format, and the app’s AI data analytics help support rural policing priorities and utilising “what three words”, rather than postcode locations, for precise rural mapping.

The app replaces our previous DISC system which had been used historically to share information and news alerts between police and people with a business interest in rural and wildlife matters such as farmers, gamekeepers and rural estate owners.

Previous DISC users were given priority sign-up to the app during the launch phase, and now we are rolling it out more widely across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight 

It can be downloaded through the app store on your phone, and there is a private rural community within the app that approved users can join, such as rural businesses, workers and partner agencies.

Users are being urged to continue using 999 to report crimes in progress or in an emergency. However, the improved line of communication from EyesOn between rural communities and police will ensure that officers can better understand local issues and the impact that Organised Crime has on these areas.

Inspector Cath MacDonald, who leads the Country Watch Rural Crime Task Force, said: “Organised criminals continue to blight the Hampshire and Isle of Wight countryside, and significantly impact the lives of hardworking communities living in isolated and rural areas.

“As a Constabulary we supported the previous DISC system for a number of years, during which time we formed a community of 1000 members who shared information and reported crime directly to police. Equally, we used the platform to keep these community members up to date with policing issues affecting them. 

“Now is the point for a refresh and an update to how we are doing this. Drawing from community feedback, we have worked with UKPAC to develop the bespoke EyesOn app that will deliver what we now need from a rural two-way engagement platform.

“EyesOn gives police and the community a much more user-friendly interface, making it quicker and easier to report crimes and incidents, and then to get that information to the right local policing team.

“The app’s analytics will help us to identify problems, trends and how best to target a police response, adding to the impact our Rural Crime Task Force are already having across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

“We want to be in the right areas at the right times to target rural criminality, and this app will be another important tool helping us to do that.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones said: “EyesOn is a revolutionary new app which will be a game changer in the fight against rural crime for our countryside communities and local police.

“I am delighted to be supporting and funding the EyesOn project, so that our rural communities can access it for free and share news, risks and concerns as well as images and CCTV footage of offences being committed and the damage left behind.

“We have already seen great success with our retail-focused app, UKPAC. Thanks to that initiative we are now one of the top police forces in the country for dealing with shoplifting offences. I look forward to seeing EyesOn have a similar impact on tackling rural crimes.”