Michael Gordon Gibson, the former president of Crime Stoppers International, joins Facewatch as Police and International Operations director
Michael Gordon Gibson will join Facewatch to focus on the National and International roll out of the service to Police forces. Currently 9 UK forces have adopted the Facewatch system and the goal is to increase coverage rapidly over the next 12 months.
Michael Gordon Gibson, commented:
“This is a superb opportunity for me to join a highly innovative business which is really changing the way low level crime is managed and controlled. My recent experience with Crime Stoppers International and having served the public and third sectors for over thirty-four years allows me to bring s a wealth of knowledge to Facewatch which I intend to use to accelerate the use of the system across all UK Police forces.”
He continued:
“Facewatch became a corporate partner with Crimestoppers in the UK in 2012 with the intention of enhancing the opportunities for the public to give information to the police by identifying images posted on the 'Facewatch ID' mobile application but also using the anonymous Crimestoppers on-line reporting site alongside the Facewatch application. The partners have agreed to develop the existing Crimestoppers interface to enable a single image upload interface which will populate both Facewatch ID and the Crimestoppers ‘Most Wanted site’ thus saving the police many hours of administration dealing with two separate systems.”
Simon Gordon, Chairman of Facewatch added,
“Michael is a very important addition to our senior management team at a crucial moment in the roll out of the Facewatch system both in the UK and abroad. His wealth of experience in the public sector and more recently with Crime sStoppers International makes him the perfect fit for us and I am very pleased I was able to persuade him to join usdelighted that he is joining us with the kind support of his Crimestoppers senior management with whom we are working ever more closely.”
Biography: Michael Gordon-Gibson
Michael is a former police officer who worked mainly within the Intelligence Command of London’s Metropolitan Police Service. In 2009 he completed thirty years’ service. Alongside many diverse overt and covert operational roles, including murder investigation, he supervised the Scotland Yard-based Crimestoppers Unit during the migration of the London region iconic “0800 555 111” anonymous call-handling operation to the Crimestoppers charity.
Before joining Facewatch he was Head of Operations for the UK Crimestoppers Trust where he was responsible for their 24/7 public-facing contact Bureau that handles all calls to the charity’s 0800 555 111 number. Michael was also engaged in strategic liaison with the police and related agencies on behalf of the charity.
Michael was elected, in 2004, to the Crime Stoppers International (CSI) Board as a Director of the European Crimestoppers Region. He was elected as CSI Vice-President in 2006 joining the CSI Executive Committee. He became CSI President in August 2010 serving a two-year term where he was responsible for CSI Law Enforcement & Interpol liaison.
Facewatch benefits:
• Online crime reporting using any device with an internet browser
• No special equipment required – a computer with broadband access is all you need
• Works with any existing CCTV system or even without CCTV for reporting only
• Perfect for shops, licensed premises, hotels and all CCTV monitored premises
• Image sharing in groups such as Pubwatches, Shopwatches, BIDs, shopping centres, high streets, retail chains and larger retail groups
• Direct link to local police forces and appropriate officers – police update the crime status throughout the investigation and can use the system for secure messaging between the business and case officers which remains on the case file
• Creation of posters showing images of banned or suspect persons for use by staff
• Full statistical analysis with key performance indicators showing police status and success rates in solving the crimes
• TFully supported by the police and the only systemto beaccredited by ACPO ‘Secured by Design’.
• Creation of full evidential pack including automatic witness statements and crime reference online by the business user
• Free cancellation of victim’s credit and debit cards
• Victim and business updated by police on progress of crime investigation by email
Endorsements:
Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan Howe, Metropolitan Police Service
“Excellent technology for fighting crime, reducing bureaucracy and saving time”.
Sir Hugh Orde, President of the Association of Chief Police Officers,
“I am pleased to support Facewatch for its practical use of technology in the fight to combat crime. The system is a catalyst for businesses and police to join together; a great example of citizens and communities getting involved alongside the police”.
Michael Laurie, Crimestoppers’ Chief Executive on announcing the partnership with Facewatch
“This is an exciting opportunity to further develop Crimestoppers’ range of services for the public in providing them with an anonymous route to pass on information about crime as well as an opportunity to embrace the business community. Facewatch not only gives us access to the very latest database and mobile technology but will also enable us to further empower individuals and communities in the fight against crime. The partnership of Facewatch and Crimestoppers with the support of Chiefs of Police creates a world leading example of public and private sector co-operation”.
Facewatch systems accreditations:
ISO 9001
ACPO – Secured by design (Association of chief Police officers)
Fully data protection compliant
Facewatch Q&A
What is Facewatch?
Facewatch is the first online crime reporting and communications system using social media and mobile tools to enable the public, businesses and the police to work together to beat crime.
What makes Facewatch different and unique?
Facewatch provides a single cloud based resource that enables suspects’ images, moving CCTV evidence and paperless automated witness statements to be uploaded by businesses to the police through one simple interface via any internet connected device. This open system approach gives businesses, the public and the police an open but highly secure platform to enable faster and more effective crime management and communications.
What success has Facewatch currently had?
Facewatch is the only system to have been awarded gained the 'Approved Secured by Design' status. Secured by Design is the official UK Police flagship initiative supporting the principles of 'designing out crime'.
Facewatch was launched in early 2010 and is fully operational in London; it has 6,5000 current business users. The system is in the process of being rolled out to all police forces across the UKand currently has 9 major forces using it regularly.
What other products have been developed by the organisation?
Facewatch launched a mobile phone App (Facewatch ID) in partnership with the MET police and British Transport Police in June 2012 to enable the public to identify images of suspects by postcode in the London area. There have been over12563,000 downloads of the App and98m image views already with hundreds of ID's. The App is now being made available to all Police forces and has recently been launched in Surrey and Northampton with more to follow shortly.
A communications portal to enable London Hotels to share security information during the Olympic Games was successfully launched and is now an established resource for the London Hotel community. Facewatch will be used as part of the Olympic communications hub legacy strategy for all sectors across the UK.
What changes does Facewatch make to society?
Trials in London have shown thatFacewatch acts as a strong deterrent to low level crime. Police are able to view CCTV evidence instantly and information can be shared between businesses instantly. Police will save hundreds of millions of pounds of wasted administrative time so they can concentrate on catching and prosecuting offenders.
At its heart Facewatch creates online communities that work together to improve our safety and security.
What are the next steps?
Facewatch continues to develop crime reporting solutions using the most appropriate technology and will be announcing further new productsand partnershipsin the UKover the coming months. Pilots in the USA and Australia are already operating pending a global rollout.
For more information please contact:
Simon Gordon
Chairman
Facewatch Limited
13/14 Buckingham Street, London WC2N 6DF
Tel: London office 020 7930 3225
Mobile: 07824440265
Email: simonb@facewatch.co.uk
Michael Gordon Gibson
Facewatch Limited
13/14 Buckingham Street, London WC2N 6DF
Tel: London office 020 7930 3225
Mobile 07786 856 525
Email: mgg@facewatch.co.uk
Stuart Greenfield
PR Consultant, Facewatch
Email: stuart@greenfield.co.uk
T: 07788 662697
www.facewatch.co.uk
twitter: @facewatch