App lets Rocky Mount residents communicate with police officers

Rocky Mount Police Lt. Danny Brabham was browsing online one night when he stumbled across a website advertising the smartphone application MyPD.

He was not looking for it specifically, but as soon as he saw it he knew he he’d found something useful. Months later, a sprinkling of people in Rocky Mount are using the application to communicate with police officers.

“If someone wants to email one of our sergeants or something they can go on the phone and email one of us. And they can go on it and ask queries or report crimes,” Brabham said.

People can send in crime tips through a message system that even allows them to upload pictures. People can choose to send in their name and contact information or send tips anonymously. Brabham said the police department doesn’t have the ability to track anonymous users.

The crime tips portion of MyPD is the feature that generally gets the most publicity, but the part getting the most use is the option to email officers instantly.

MyPD has only been up and running for Rocky Mount for a few weeks. Brabham said there’s only a small handful of users so far, but they have been using the app to search for officers and email them directly with questions or even thank them for their assistance.

“Being a small department, if folks reach out by this they are going to get a quicker response,” he said.

The small and relatively safe town of Rocky Mount is guarded by a force of just 21 police officers. Ask many of them when the last homicide took place and they have to stop and think about it. However, crimes still happen and people still need to get in touch with police.

Realizing that Franklin County’s schools bring an influx of around 2,000 young people to Rocky Mount on a daily basis, Brabham had been searching for something more technologically advanced to appeal to younger users. The department set up a Facebook page, but, Brabham said, social media sites work best for communication if they’re checked constantly, which is hard with a small staff. The MyPD app sends information instantly.

MyPD cost the police department about $500 to implement. Rocky Mount is one of only three agencies in Virginia using the application and its 22 information-gathering features. The app was designed about two years ago by retired Massachusetts police officer Peter Olsen. Members of the Rocky Mount Police Department consulted Olsen and other agencies before getting the application.

“The overall goal of it is to influence police and people using technology. Pretty much everybody has gone to a smart phone or iPhone,” Olsen said.

The police know it may take some time for people to get used to using the application, so they are actively telling people about MyPD and how it can be downloaded and used.

People should still contact 911 in an emergency, officers say, but the more people who use the app the quicker the flow of information.

MyPD is free to download and is available for both iPhone and Android.

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