The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has launched the MyCMPD mobile application, available on iPhone and Android smartphone devices, to engage with the public in near real time regarding local safety information, provide geo-fenced alerts and more.
“The MyCMPD application is a game-changer for CMPD as it opens up a critical communications channel for us to connect directly with the public,” said CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings. “We value the ability to quickly and accurately inform the public about events that may be transpiring. I want this organization to continue to be accountable to the public, and we have a great opportunity with this application to share information with them in a different way and hear from them how they want to be policed.”
The MyCMPD app allows users to see crimes in the area that have been vetted and pushed to the app in near real time. Users can receive geo-fenced push notification alerts when a public safety issue occurs nearby a user’s current location or places residents care about such as homes, schools or offices. In addition, residents will have one-stop-shop access to existing CMPD services and resources such as Crime Stoppers, recruitment, the CMPD website, social media, division officers and more. Users can also explore nearby incidents, events, places and interactive guides. A future phase of the app will include interactive photos, videos, documents and even voice recordings.
CMPD partnered with Atlas One out of Austin, Texas, to bring this application to fruition. Atlas One was built to offer residents unprecedented access to public safety information while still respecting user privacy. “Users can be comfortable sharing their location with Atlas One knowing their data is safe,” said Jamieson Johnson, vice president of Atlas One. “Location access simply allows us to notify you if an emergency is occurring nearby. We never track historical locations or share your personal data with any third parties, including CMPD.” Users can still be notified if alerts occur nearby favorite places, even if they choose not to share their location.
How to access the application:
- Download the free iOS or Android MyCMPD application.
- Tap “GET STARTED” to create your MyCMPD profile.
- Share your location or add favorite places that you want to track.
- If an alert occurs near your current location or places you track, the app will send a push notification alert.
- MyCMPD will also have the ability to publish incidents, events, places, guides, directories, maps, news updates, links, FAQs and more.
