A NEW secure digital evidence platform aims to spare victims from having their phones seized by police and redirect funding to frontline policing and victim support.
The States police has started a year-long trial using the Kulpa app, which allows victims and witnesses to store legally admissible material and share it directly with officers.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Hafey described the technology as “a huge step forward” in reporting crime.
“The Kulpa app can be used by victims and witnesses to provide the States of Jersey Police with immediately usable digital forensic evidence, without the police needing to seize or download their device,” he said.
“This is a huge step forward in terms of ensuring the victim or witness privacy and for improving the timelines of investigations, and bringing offenders to justice as quickly as possible.
“In most cases, we won’t need to seize victims’ phones – saving both time and cost which can be redirected to frontline policing and victim support.”
DCI Hafey stressed the platform was “an additional option for reporting crime, not a replacement,” with Islanders still able to contact police in person, by phone or online.
Kulpa has been independently certified to ensure evidence is stored securely and in a way that makes it legally admissible in court.
Hertfordshire Constabulary has already adopted the initiative after a successful pilot – with officers saying the technology had “significantly increased” the probability of a positive outcome for victims.
The app was launched in 2022 by Jersey-based entrepreneur Simon Franc, who developed it in collaboration with police, victim-support services and legal experts.
Mr Franc said he was inspired by his mother’s career as a forensic scientist, which shaped his understanding of both technology and the importance of evidence as a “deciding” factor in most cases.
He pointed out that “a vast majority of reported crime goes unresolved due to an evidential difficulty, a lack of evidence or, more often, a lack of verifiable evidence”.
The entrepreneur argued that giving police immediate access to usable digital evidence would improve the chances of successful prosecutions and, in time, act as a deterrent.
Mr Franc encouraged Islanders to make use of Kulpa, saying: “You will be helping yourself, helping fellow Islanders and giving the police more time to dedicate to those for whom technology is not native or accessible.”
The app is free to download or can be accessed online at kulpacloud.com.
