Members of the public in Devon & Cornwall can now report crimes and incidents and find out how to access support for victims using a new smartphone app. 

The Police.UK app also gives crime prevention advice, information on local police contacts and an opportunity to compare crime rates in different parts of the country.

The app offers a quick and easy way to report non-urgent incidents, find crime prevention advice for a wide range of issues, such as burglary or vehicle crime prevention advice, and find information about local neighbourhood policing teams, including who is on the team, local crime priorities, and any upcoming meetings in the community.

Assistant Chief Constable of Devon & Cornwall Police, Nikki Leaper, said: “We want to make it as easy as possible for people to contact the police to report an incident, to find out how to keep themselves or their property safe or to find details of their local policing team.

“The Police.UK app provides people with a source of information about the police and an easy way of reporting an incident. Police.UK does not replace other ways of reporting incidents, though. It just provides an additional way to get in touch. If it is an emergency, the public should always call 999 and the option to call 101 for routine issues still exists.”

The app has been created by the National Police Chief’s Council’s Digital Public Contact Programme, which is responsible for changing how the public can contact the police digitally.