The text alert service, which aims to prevent crime in local communities, is being taken to a new level. Alongside the development of a new mobile app, Cairde, the service will now track crimes as they happen and use that data to predict the next target.
“In the background we have technology which can track alerts coming in from around the country and identify common themes,” said Niall Garvey, CEO of Muintir na Tíre, the body that runs text alert. “So if there is a vehicle that is involved in something in one area and then half an hour later there is a text from another we can track that and hotspot the activity. So we can almost predict where a crime will be committed next at this point, which is an exciting development, I think, in the area of text alert.”
The new app, called Cairde, is a community communications service that allows communities to talk to each other and receive text alerts from the gardaí.
Garvey was speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal at the launch of the Justice Committee’s report on community policing and rural crime at Leinster House on Thursday.
The justice committee’s report recommends that district community policing be strengthened and that a dedicated officer should be assigned as a first point of contact for each community.
“Community policing promotes local problem-solving strategies to address underlying causes of crime, while also addressing the fear of crime by providing reassurance to communities,” said justice committee chair Caoimhghin Ó Caoláin. “Proactively addressing problems within communities, rather than reacting to crimes already committed, should become the organising principle of police activity.”
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The text alert service, which aims to prevent crime in local communities, is being taken to a new level. Alongside the development of a new mobile app, Cairde, the service will now track crimes as they happen and use that data to predict the next target.
“In the background we have technology which can track alerts coming in from around the country and identify common themes,” said Niall Garvey, CEO of Muintir na Tíre, the body that runs text alert. “So if there is a vehicle that is involved in something in one area and then half an hour later there is a text from another we can track that and hotspot the activity. So we can almost predict where a crime will be committed next at this point, which is an exciting development, I think, in the area of text alert.”
The new app, called Cairde, is a community communications service that allows communities to talk to each other and receive text alerts from the gardaí.
Garvey was speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal at the launch of the Justice Committee’s report on community policing and rural crime at Leinster House on Thursday.
The justice committee’s report recommends that district community policing be strengthened and that a dedicated officer should be assigned as a first point of contact for each community.
“Community policing promotes local problem-solving strategies to address underlying causes of crime, while also addressing the fear of crime by providing reassurance to communities,” said justice committee chair Caoimhghin Ó Caoláin. “Proactively addressing problems within communities, rather than reacting to crimes already committed, should become the organising principle of police activity.”
Read more
More garda patrolling and CCTV needed – rural crime report
Half of crimes against farmers not reported
Rural crime spate prompts fresh calls for more gardaí
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