Students text to combat crime

[4 July 2008]

Crimestoppers rolled out a pilot in three east London schools during June, specifically focusing on combating knife crime as part of the Metropolitan Police Service's Operation Blunt.

For the first time, mobile phone users in the UK now have the ability to provide anonymous crime fighting information through the power of SMS (Short Message Service) text messaging.

As the charity embraces new technology, it is essential that strong anonymity protections were firmly in place. To help Crimestoppers develop an SMS system which does not reveal the mobile phone number, it joined forces with mBlox, the world's largest mobile transaction network, and Anderson Software based in Texas.

The system allows text messages to be sent to a dedicated number which is then encrypted and routed through a secure server so details of the informant remain anonymous. Crimestoppers only receives the content of the message.

Indications from the pilot tell us that the quality of information received so far is of real value to law enforcement. Misuse of the facility has not been a problem which is encouraging. A roll-out across Tower Hamlets is planned for September.