Want to help make Haringey safer? There’s an app for that!

An app to help make neighbourhoods safer is launching in Haringey.

The OWL (Online Watch Link) app is an award-winning crime fighting platform. Anyone can download it for free and receive a notification as soon as a new alert is sent by their local police officers or council community safety officers.

Without any registration or login, the public can also view recent alerts, appeals and crime prevention advice sent to their local area or anywhere in their borough.

The app allows users to easily share updates via social media, see translations of alerts in languages other than English, and provides a new way for the public to report crimes and communicate with the police. Other features include scam alerts from ActionFraud and information on local police officers, police stations and police priorities for the local area.

Haringey is the latest local authority area to benefit from the system. OWL is already being used by residents in 14 other London boroughs and in Hertfordshire, where it has helped the police apprehend suspects, find missing people and build stronger relationships with local communities.

OWL has also successfully been used in other boroughs to expand Neighbourhood Watch schemes, help avoid crime, and provide a dedicated platform for the police and council to keep residents updated about issues such as burglary, vehicle and bike crime, scams and anti-social behaviour.

Owners of video doorbells and CCTV can join CCTV Watch at the same time as joining Neighbourhood Watch online. Doing so lets the police know you have a camera in case there’s an incident nearby that your private camera might have recorded. Knowledge of cameras is kept secure and private and never made public.

For residents who can’t or don’t wish to download the app, there is also the option to sign up for free e-mail updates by registering at www.owl.co.uk/met.

Cllr Erdal Dogan, Cabinet Member for Stronger and Safer Communities, said: “Keeping residents safe is our top priority. A key part of that is making sure that everyone has access to the latest information on crime, fraud and other community safety issues in their local area.

“The OWL app will help us do just that. We’ve seen from other boroughs how effective this system is at fighting crime and building bridges between communities and the police. I encourage everyone in the borough to download the app so we can work together to make Haringey safer for all our residents.”

Download the OWL app for free on your Android or Apple device .