Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has launched a brand new and redesigned Android app to provide a better service to the people of Greater Manchester.
The app – which has been completely rebuilt by the GMP digital team – is now available to download from the Google Play Store.
Developers have made a wealth of behind the scenes changes to make it easier to use and added a number of new features.
The app allows the user to receive push notifications, alerting them to major incidents or urgent appeals and have the option to personalise their alerts to cover where they live and work.
It also provides information about the nearest police station and policing team, as well as details of appeals, wanted and missing people based on geolocation data.
Other features include a campaigns section where people can keep up to date with the latest campaigns and a list of local support centre addresses and contact details.
Improvements have been made to the existing ‘Around You’ map feature so now the user can filter what kind of nearby event or appeals they want to appear on the map.
The easy to use intelligence submission section also allows people to report non-urgent intelligence information anonymously via Crimestoppers.
More updates for the app are planned and users are encouraged to contact GMP through Facebook or Twitter with their feedback on the latest version as well as what they would like to see in future versions.
Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: “I’m delighted with the new and improved app which highlights our determination to keep up with technological developments and will help us provide an even better service to the people of Greater Manchester.
“It will allow us to engage with more people and keep the public updated with major incidents as well as reducing the amount of time it takes for urgent appeals to be seen which can make all the difference.
“The app will allow people to find out what is happening where they are and enable them to pass vital information to the police anonymously.
“I hope that everybody who downloads the app is as happy with it as we are. We welcome any feedback that users may have to allow us to continue to make it better.”
The iPhone app, which won the Innovation Award at the UK Social Media Communications Awards in 2014, was launched in January 2013 and has since been downloaded over 30,000 times.
