OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Oshkosh Police say their citizen reporting app has been deactivated.
Due to business-related matters, the department says the Relay App was shut down this week. Officer Kate Mann says citizens loved having that direct link to on-duty officers.
“We had a lot of success with it. We heard from citizens how much they liked the app, they liked using it to report non-emergency incidents directly to officers, and being able to include photographs,” Mann told WTAQ News. “As soon as we posted it to our social media accounts, we could also send out a broadcast that citizens would get immediately on their phones. So it’s just a great way to share up-to-date information on active incidents very quickly.”
Officers could also report back and forth with the reporting party, and obtain more information via messaging within the app.
Police will begin their search for another app to replace Relay and hopes to find something similar in the near future.
“We are starting to look for a different platform. But we want to make sure the new app is going to be a good fit for our community as well…We would like to go with a platform that does allow that reporting capability, offering an opportunity for citizens to send photos or video with the incident,” Mann said. “We want something that is going to be easy for both citizens to use and officers, because it’s going to be a direct link from the citizen to the officer.”
It was first used by the department in 2019.
