The Brantford Police Service are launching a new technology to improve and enhance communication with the residents of Brantford.
The new technology, called SPIDR Tech, is software that will automatically send text messages to victims of crime or community residents who report crime, as well as provide surveys to gauge community trust and satisfaction with the service.
Effective Wednesday, January 18, 2023, automated text messages will be sent to community residents who call 9-1-1 on an SMS enabled device to report the following types of incidents: break and enter, theft, fraud, property damage, and motor vehicle collisions involving property damage or are classified as a hit and run.
Once a report is received, the person who initiated the report will receive a text message with information about their report including confirmation the report was received, the occurrence number, updates on officer arrival, as well as follow-up surveys to provide feedback regarding the level of satisfaction with the service received.
“The Brantford Police Service is thoroughly committed to modernizing and enhancing the public safety service we provide to our local community. By utilizing SPIDR Tech, we strive to reduce the number of calls to the communications centre requesting report status updates. This will allow communicators to mobilize officers as efficiently as possible. Additionally, the survey responses provided by the public will generate insights that can be applied to day-to-day decision making, improving how we connect with the community and how we can work together to improve community safety,” said Rob Davis, Chief of Police.
SPIDR Tech is currently utilized by several other police services within North America and was created by a California-based company of former law enforcement officers to help police services improve communication, transparency, and service delivery to the public.