Text and email alert scheme to cut down on ASB launched in Ryedale

The North Yorkshire Police ‘Be Informed’ email and text alert scheme has launched in Ryedale this week as part of efforts to reduce antisocial behaviour incidents in the local area.

The service, in partnership with Ryedale District Council, is designed to inform parents and carers, via text message and email, of any anti-social behaviour incidents in the local area that officers are attending. If their children are out at the time, parents and carers can then use this text as a trigger to contact their children, check their whereabouts, make sure they are ok and reassure themselves that they are not involved in the incident.

The service previously ran in York and Selby and is soon to be relaunched in these areas too. It is run through North Yorkshire Community Messaging, a service which anyone who lives and works in North Yorkshire can sign up to and receive messages about crime appeals, crime prevention advice, alerts about spates of crime and local events. You can sign up for an account here: North Yorkshire Community Messaging

In Ryedale, the scheme covers Malton, Norton, Pickering, Helmsley and Kirkbymoorside. To join, parents need to first create an account on North Yorkshire Community Messaging here North Yorkshire Community Messaging and then email: [email protected] with the following information:

• Their full name
• Their mobile number
• The name of the area they live
• The name/s of the area or areas their child frequents

A member of the team will then confirm by email that they are successfully signed up.

Ryedale Neighbourhood Policing Sergeant, Paul Gibson-Hodges said:

“We know the Be Informed scheme has been effective in other parts of North Yorkshire and we hope that by introducing it in Ryedale we can not only deal with antisocial behaviour incidents more quickly, but it can also offer peace of mind to parents and carers in the local area.

“We know parents and carers want the best for their children and do everything they can to make sure any slip in behaviour doesn’t end up having serious consequences on their child’s future. But sometimes, keeping up with kids and knowing where they are and what they are getting up to can be challenging and Be Informed can support parents in doing so.

“If my team attends an incident of antisocial behaviour in Pickering for example, we’ll send out a text and email to those registered for Be Informed who live nearby. They will receive an update on the incident and can then use this information to make contact with their child or children, find out where they are and be reassured they are okay.

“I’d really encourage our local parents and carers to get signed up today.”

Margaret Wallace, Programme Director for People and Resources for Ryedale District Council said:

“Whilst it is parents and carers who have primary care for their children, local authorities, working with partner organisations and agencies, have specific duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children in their area.

“This scheme helps us meet that requirement, working in partnership with North Yorkshire Police to keep our children and neighbourhoods safe. It’s a great scheme to reassure parents and carers and we very much support it.”