Under the Caught on Camera initiative, the States police are uploading CCTV pictures of suspects and witnesses wanted in connection with crimes such as shoplifting, burglaries and assaults.
This morning the website was displaying images of four suspects – three wanted in connection with thefts, including one man police want to speak to about the spending of £1,600 on a stolen bank card, and one in connection with an indecent assault at Liberation Station on 29 August.
The images can be viewed here.
Detective Inspector Craig Jackson said the scheme gives officers another tool to identify and locate potential criminals and witnesses and allows the force to ‘build a picture of those who choose to commit crime’.
‘It’s about making sure that we do all we can to identify anyone who has committed crime and identify persons who are of any interest to us,’ Det Insp Jackson said.
‘The public are influential in helping us build intelligence and in identifying suspects.’
Anyone who believes they recognise a featured suspect or witness can upload their information by clicking on the ‘identify this person’ link.
Details can be uploaded anonymously.
Asked if the police had concerns that the scheme could be used maliciously, Det Insp Jackson said: ‘We are mindful of that and there is a set policy in place.
‘We will ensure that prior investigations will take place before we release the images online to build some intelligence.
‘Just because a member of the public identifies a person does not mean we will go down straight away and arrest them.
‘We will build up intelligence first.’
The gallery will also contain images of missing property or items that could be of assistance to a police investigation.
Det Insp Jackson added: ‘CCTV and other cameras play a fundamental role in investigating crime.
‘We already use other channels, such as press releases to the media and our website to ask the public for help with identifying people in certain cases, but this new gallery gives us another opportunity to do this.
‘Most people nowadays have a smartphone which helps to make this process so easy and it’s also a great way to involve the public and improve investigations when we do not know who a potential witness or suspect is.’
