‘eyewitness’ has been developed in conjunction with West Midlands activist and entrepreneur Mahtab Khan. The app enables the user to photograph, video or record incidents, time and geo-stamp the file and, in a couple of taps, send evidence to the most relevant police force via a secure evidence locker.
Additionally, there is an option for users to send incident coverage to any of Trinity Mirror’s national or regional newsdesks.
In the last decade the growth of camera-enabled smartphones has contributed to a huge rise in both e-reporting of crimes and citizen journalism, including notorious examples such as the recent street bullying story in Northfields, Birmingham and the footage of the assault on Malaysian student Ashraf Rossli during the London riots.
It’s hoped the app will make it easier for people to report crimes of this nature in future, say the publishers.
Matt Colebourne, Director of New Businesses, commented: "eyewitness is one of our most exciting new businesses and we are delighted to be able to support Mahtab in turning a concept into a fully-fledged product. Working with entrepreneurs to allow them access to our media and tech resources is allowing us to transform our own business to meet the changing media landscape".
Marketing to support the launch includes press and online adverts in group titles plus a broadcast PR. Activity will focus on the results of an eyewitness commissioned survey into the prevalence of antisocial behaviour and hate crime, timed to coincide with start of National Hate Crime Awareness Week.
The app is available to download for free on Android and iOS.
