Force Celebrates First Anniversary of Herts Connected

More than 3,000 targeted messages have been sent to Hertfordshire residents signed up to receive police alerts on a range of local topics including updates on incidents, events, crime prevention advice, court results and good news over the last 12 months.

The majority of the 50,000 residents (10 per cent of Hertfordshire households) signed up to the force’s community messaging platform Herts Connected www.hertsconnected.co.uk are pleased with the local messages they receive – as the force marks its first anniversary.

Sergeant Alex Smedley, who has led on embedding Herts Connected across the constabulary, said: ‘It has been a fantastic year with the majority of residents rating the messages as useful, informative and relevant. That is largely thanks to the 500 officers across the county who are posting about what they have been doing and alerting the public to local issues.’

Almost 4,000 engagement events have been advertised on the system over the last 12 months, where the public can speak to their local officers face-to-face about any concerns. The three main issues across the county are anti-social behaviour, drugs and vehicle crime. Many local neighbourhood policing teams are focusing on these issues as they have become neighbourhood priorities following this feedback from residents.

Residents can have their say by letting the Constabulary know their issues here survey.hertsconnected.co.uk/Survey/GUID/12cc8232-03be-4087-a9ac-ddbc48fa16fc

Sergeant Smedley added: ‘We would love more people to receive our messages – so we can help prevent crime and better understand the issues that have an adverse effect on local communities, so we can work on short and longer-term plans to address these with our local partner agencies. What are you waiting for? Why not sign up today by selecting ‘police’ when you register.’