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Australia’s criminal information reporting service Crime Stoppers has announced it will be implementing a new online reporting tool, extending to members of the public additional ways to report crimes.
The organisation has appointed Citadel Group to build out its safety management platform, Keep Us Safe vResponder, specifically around the needs of Crime Stoppers and its network.
Citadel’s Keep Us Safe application is hosted on Microsoft Azure, which received accreditation in April for its “government-configured” clouds to be used for Australian government data classified up to protected level.
Crime Stoppers gathers information supplied by the community to assist police agencies with solving and preventing crime.
“In the last two years we’ve seen an increase in cybercrime and victim reporting from the general public,” Crime Stoppers director Peter Price said previously. “In New South Wales alone, 30 percent of all Crime Stoppers reports received are now online.”
The cloud-based application will use artificial intelligence and cognitive services tools to digitally categorise incoming reports. Citadel said the vResponder platform is also capable of facilitating the reporting, and solving, of crimes globally, in addition to in Australia.
The Crime Stoppers international network operates in 25 countries across 1,200 programs.
“Crime Stoppers Australia is an incredible organisation which helps makes our communities safer,” Citadel CEO Darren Stanley said on Wednesday. “It is our vision that by working closely with our partners like Crime Stoppers Australia and leveraging the power of AI and cognitive services we can assist the government to not only solve crime, but prevent it, and in doing so build a safer Australia”
The platform allows for real-time video uploads and information capture.
It is currently used in a range of industries, Citadel said, including national security, health, emergency services, and financial services including insurance.
Crime Stoppers announced partnering with Kaspersky Lab in March, with the Russian firm providing online “cyber safety” education to the public, delivered via safety videos staring Eugene Kaspersky, and forums comprising tips and the latest cybersecurity-related information, which Kaspersky Lab said will allow people to be safe online.
Australian-listed Citadel was earlier this year awarded a contract with the RAAF in NSW, with the AU$2.4 million agreement seeing the company provide the air force with “collaboration” services.
Citadel also inked a three-year, AU$12 million-plus deal with Deakin University to be the core supplier of collaboration technologies and to supply other advisory and logistic support services.
The company also boasts the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, Victorian Department of Treasury & Finance, Victorian Premier and Cabinet, Victorian Public Sector Commission, NSW Department of Finance, Service and Innovation, NSW Office of Sport, TAFE NSW, Baw Baw Council, and the Surf Coast Council as customers of its Citadel-IX SaaS platform.