Following a successful trial the Queensland Police Service is rolling out contacting members of the public by SMS when investigating reported occurrences across the state. The tool, which is available to officers from today, has been successfully trialled in Brisbane South, Logan and Gladstone earlier in the year.
Currently, police are only able to contact people by telephone or by attending the location where the person is. Police believe this will improve two way communication as many people don’t answer phone calls marked ‘private’ or ‘no caller-ID’.
Now officers are able to send an SMS message to a person from their QPS email account. The message recipient will be able to reply directly to the officer by sending an SMS message back, for example by providing the requested details or making an appointment to meet.
Senior Sergeant Andrew Lake said the tool makes it easier for the public and the QPS to engage