30/11/2006 - Txt msgs uzd 2 tkl crims : Cumbria County Council

A pioneering scheme using mobile phones to send messages between police and Neighbourhood Watch members in Cumbria is going from strength to strength.

The text message scheme to cut crime in Cumbria is now being used by more than 2,000 Cumbria Neighbourhood Watch schemes across the county.

The Voice Connect System, which was launched in Cumbria in 2003, sends text messages to Neighbourhood Watch coordinators who then forward on the messages to members.

More than 32,000 homes are now covered by the alert system that circulates warnings about criminal activity, appeals for witnesses, information about suspicious incidents and details on missing persons.

In April, the scheme was used to circulate information about a deer poacher in the Levens area who was later caught by police. And in June, the system was successfully used to help track down a suspected burglar in Penrith.

Neighbourhood Watch is funded through the Safer and Stronger Communities Fund which is administered in Cumbria by the county council.

Cumbria County Council’s Community Safety Officer, Paul Musgrave said: “The Voice Connect System is changing the way information is shared and crime is dealt with at a community level.

“Before Voice Connect, people would be contacted in the street where a crime had taken place but the capability didn’t exist to get in touch with people in adjoining streets or areas – information can now be passed on in a matter of minutes.”