Submitted by John Guilfoil for the Bedford Police Department
Police Chief Robert Bongiorno and the the Bedford Police Department today announced the launch of Version 3 of its smartphone app, My Police Department or MyPD for short. With new features and updated design, the public will benefit from new options and ways to connect to the Police Department
The free MyPD app allows citizens to download an app for their Android or iPhone and easily connect with the police department right from their device. MyPD is free to download, contains no advertising and users do not need to share personal information or set up an account to use the app. Any information sharing is optional.
Citizens looking to connect with the Bedford Police should search for “MyPD” in their app store. Once the app is downloaded and the agency chosen it will always open to the Bedford Police Department and its resources. If you have feedback about the app you can send it under the app’s Feedback Form, choose the topic of “App suggestions”.
For additional information about the My Police Department app users can visit: www.bedfordpd.org or www.MyPDapp.com.
Using MyPD
Hundreds of people have already downloaded the app to connect with the Bedford Police. The app previously had around 22 features and has now boosted the available options to more than 30. It has improved many of the older options and completely overhauled the app’s design and user interface.
“Residents, business owners and visitors can now receive important updates from us, including urgent messages and push notifications,” said Bedford Police Officer Marc Saucier. “We can send the notifications through Twitter or our dashboard and the user does not need an account or have to worry about missing an important message. We encourage users to opt in to messages if they want to be informed quickly of updates.”
Crime and safety issues are also important for citizens. The app includes resources and links on a number of topics; such as victim resources, domestic violence, press releases, missing children and many more. There are also four background screens to swipe through and can be updated with pictures of wanted persons, missing people or announcements.
Sending in tips about crimes or other quality of life issues is another way citizens can use the Bedford Police MyPD app. It allows the user to either attach their contact information or send it anonymously. Photos and GPS locations of incidents can also be attached from either the phones gallery or live camera. Bedford receives between 5-10 messages a month from the public.
While the app links to or integrates with some social media, police say it is not another social network. There are no ads on the app and no account is necessary to use MyPD.
“We have been using social media like Facebook and Twitter for quite a few years now,” Chief Bongiorno said. “The MyPD app is not meant to replace those or be another social network. It is a tool for citizens to keep on their phones so when they need a phone number, to send a crime tip or want to research something they have it readily available in an easy to use app.”
While the app is not a social media platform, it does have some social aspects to it and has added an interesting feature where users can “unlock” badges the more they use the app and interact with the police department.
“Basically the app user can climb in rank and unlock new badges,” Officer Saucier said. “We will build on this idea with future versions.”
The app also now lets users share some basic anonymous data about their age, gender or how they found out about the app. This is optional and if shared will help the department to better understand who is using the app, how they found it and if they live or work in the town.
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