By BRIDGET COOK
CASEY police have become more social-media savvy to help give them more eyes to watch over the community.
Last week the ‘Eyewatch’ initiative was rolled-out in the Casey Police Service Area (PSA), which is essentially a Facebook page that allows police to connect with their local communities to share crime and safety information.
Police will use Eyewatch to let people know about crimes and post photos of missing or wanted people, while community members can ask their local police questions or share crime and safety information.
Casey PSO Inspector Wayne Viney said Casey was now one of 17 PSA across Victoria to go live.
“It means police and local communities are embracing the social media way to communicate,” he said.
“Eyewatch allows communities to access their local police to ask questions, seek advice or share crime and safety information.
“It provides a real-time opportunity for police to reach the community and not rely on traditional media outlets for news.”
Insp Viney said the initiative had already proved to be successful in other areas that it has been introduced.
“In one case, Geelong police asked for assistance to identify an offender over an attempted sexual assault, and 30,000 people saw the post in their news feed or in a story from a friend over a one-week period,” he said.
“Eyewatch has been a useful tool in helping solve crimes.
“Several investigations have been resolved with public assistance after photos were posted.
“People have seen the photos and called Crime Stoppers to provide information which has led to police making arrests.
“We’ve seen this pilot prove that Eyewatch is a successful way to keep the community informed on local issues and deal with local problems, or to distribute community safety and crime prevention messages.
“So we encourage people to get involved, have a look at their local pages and start interacting.”
Police and Emergency Services Minister Kim Wells announced the roll-out of the initiative to other PSO in the state on Wednesday last week.
“Social media can help residents make their communities safer and enable police to reach a wider audience for witnesses of crime to come forward,” he said.
As a partnership between Victoria Police and Neighbourhood Watch, funding for the expansion of Eyewatch has been provided through the internal police budget and a $5000 contribution from Neighbourhood Watch Victoria.
To join the Casey Eyewatch page visit www.facebook.com/eyewatchcaseypsa.
