By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason Amadi, Naval District Washington Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Naval District Washington (NDW) launched Eagle Eyes Navy, a new suspicious activity reporting application, for Apple and Android devices, April 15.
Eagle Eyes Navy is a new tool to report incidents to law enforcement within NDW. It is available for download in Apple’s App Store and Google Play. In addition to the app, suspicious behavior can be reported online at www.eagleeyes.navy.
“This is an app for anybody who works, lives or plays on any installation within NDW,” said Eric Brumley, NDW criminal investigator. “Within the Navy, NDW is the first region to use this tool. If it is successful here, it could be a tool that is used Navy-wide. Pretty much everyone has a smart phone and it’ll take less than a minute to do a report.”
There is no restriction on who can download or use the Eagle Eyes Navy application. Anyone with the app can report an incident, its location and photos of suspicious activity and the information will be received instantly by designated command representatives on each installation. The location of the reported incident determines which installation receives the information.
“People see things, but sometimes don’t know how to report it. This gives you the ability to take photographs and type up reports in real-time. As fast as you can open up the app and report the activity, that’s how fast we can receive it. We don’t want people just reporting Navy issues. Anything suspicious that people see can be reported through Eagle Eyes Navy and we’ll take a look at it and determine where it needs to go. Maybe it isn’t of interest to the Navy and doesn’t impact our fence lines, but it may have some criminal nexus to the Metropolitan Police Department and we can get that information to them,” said Brumley.
The ease with which law enforcement personnel can receive information through the app could allow them to make connections between incidents and determine whether or not incidents are isolated or part of a coordinated effort.
“People call this app the Instagram of suspicious activity reporting,” said Chief Master-At-Arms Mark Russel, NDW criminal investigator. “Someone might describe what a person looked like or what they think they were doing, but pictures are going to reveal the truth. If we can get a picture and share it immediately, everyone is going to have a better idea of what’s happening. If someone is doing something suspicious at Navy Yard and ten minutes later they’re at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, we need to be able to link them together.
“What if that person is constantly testing these installations. We’re not going to be able to piece that together by just the gate sentry having that information and forwarding it up their chain of command. But if a person comes through and we take a picture of them, share it, establish a trend and get NCIS involved. This is huge. It’s easy to do, it’s really quick and it takes the pressure off someone who is too afraid to call it in,” Russel said.
The Eagle Eyes Navy program is not designed to report emergencies or quality of life complaints. If a situation requires an emergency response, call 911. As a reminder, false reporting to a law enforcement agency is a violation of state law.
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For more information on Eagle Eyes Navy visit, https://www.cnic.navy.mil/om/EagleEyesNavy.html.
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