Greater Sudbury Police Service (GSPS) launched a new app on Monday.
It is an idea that began 10 years ago in Texas and is now used all across North America.
Those involved say it's a 'one-stop shop' to know everything that's going on with police in the community.
Everyone who owns an Apple or Android device can now download the app called GSPS Mobile.
It contains a lot of vital information and ways of interacting with police.
Kaitlyn Dunn is the corporate communications coordinator for the Sudbury police.
"You can do online reporting through the app. You can also access our full website, as well as our jobs and opportunities. There are important contacts, including 3-1-1 and 2-1-1, which are both the provincial and municipal access to services, as well as things like the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) crisis and Bear Wise,” said Dunn.
Officials with GSPS say this app gives the community a chance to see what police are doing on a regular basis.
Within this app, the first icon you will see is the 'alerts icon, and when an alert does occur, it will show up in a banner type form on your phone.
"The alerts are really important, so that’s driven internally. That’ll have information on missing persons, as well as various incidents that are occurring within the community, something like maybe a bomb threat or an evacuation due to a gas leak, a barricaded person or something that’s a risk to public safety," said Dunn.
Deputy Police Chief Sheilah Weber says using this app will allow people to follow police on all their social media platforms.
"We’re very active. We have active profiles within our Facebook, within Twitter, within Instagram, and they can really keep up-to-date with the great initiatives and activities that the police are doing in connection with the community," said Weber.
The app is completely free and GSPS officials say they don't collect any personal information at any time.
They say anyone using the app is anonymous and there is no registration or sign up.
