Features and Benefits at a glance

No user licenses which enables and facilitates maximum participation - As a not for profit social enterprise one of the reasons we developed SIRCS was because the practices of commercial crime management software providers and their prohibitive costs coupled with user licences had restricted the growth, availability and even the evolution of crime reduction partnerships in the UK. We do not charge user licence fees or tie partnerships into long term contracts. We hope that by pushing boundaries the commercial providers will follow suit saving partnerships and their member's money. SIRCS is available at a fraction of the cost of commercial systems and provides secure, audited, 24/7, encrypted access to a partnership's information via the internet, intranet or mobile phone marking a new era for crime reduction partnerships in the UK.
24/7 reporting facility and 24/7 access to information - SIRCS is a secure, encrypted online database, accessible through the Internet, Intranet and mobile phones. The system allows scheme members to report and access information 24/7. With 24/7 members access, online reporting plus meeting all your scheme's day-to-day communication needs, SIRCS provides a one-stop solution for your partnership.
Enhances and links existing schemes, dramatically improving information sharing - Accessibility is the cornerstone to the success of SIRCS. All of your local projects, schemes, agencies and organisations can now legally and securely access and share information with one another. Each scheme will have their own login page with a news and updates section. This will give them a 'web' presence and place to promote their good work and promote events.
Partnership download area - There is a download section within the member's area where scheme posters and documentation can be accessed and downloaded. This saves time and money and allows for ready access to forms such as Anti-Social Behaviour logs.
Multi-access level community engagement calendar* - This in-built bespoke events and community engagement calendar has different access permissions. This allows Community Champions, Speed Watch and other members to register their patrols and schemes can post their community events to keep one another updated.
Graffiti and environmental section - SIRCS is much more than a powerful crime management system, it allows schemes to collate information and images on environmental issues such as graffiti and fly tipping. This section links into the SIRCS National Environmental Database. This means for example that you can search on graffiti tags from around the country.
Ability to send electronic community intelligence briefings, alerts and reports - Schemes using SIRCS can easily issue newsletters, crime alerts and bulletins to their members using the messaging and email facility so they can immediately be made aware of incidents.
On-line tutorials, helpdesk and user action logs - SIRCS has been designed to be easy to use for both users and administrators. The Empowering-Communities Team is on hand to provide telephone support and there are written and video tutorials available.
24/7 Missing persons alert facility* - Information about missing persons including their image can quickly and easily be uploaded and shared with members.
Geo-Mapping of crime and environmental issues* - SIRCS will allow scheme administrators to produce maps using Geo-Tagging of crime and environmental incidents. For example a particular graffiti tag can be plotted on a map for evidential purposes.
Increased community intelligence and awareness resulting in reduced crime and disorder - Presenting at the 2010 British Retail Consortium Conference Jonathan Newman, Town Centre Manager for Great Yarmouth told the audience that his retail crime reduction partnership had been using SIRCS since August 2008. He listed numerous benefits including his members receiving information and images faster, increased membership engagement, 24/7 access to information and email notifications including intelligence bulletins. He reported a reduction in anti-social behaviour of 75%, Christmas shop theft in 2009/10 being down 48%; and a 40% increase in arrests. He attributed this success to the increased awareness SIRCS provided his partnership and business community.
Maximises and encourages participation - Empowering-Communities exists to have a positive impact on people's lives. Our aim is to help and empower victims, local communities, vulnerable people and their families. We operate proven systems and schemes to maximise citizen participation to solve local community problems.
Secure access to information via the internet, intranet or mobile phone - Each user has their own username and password. They must agree to the scheme's protocols, terms and conditions each time they log in and there is an action log (audit trail) for each registered user. All SIRCS data management systems are encrypted using an SSL certificate up to 256bit. A 2048-bit encrypted RSA login authentication handler protects unauthorised access to SIRCS. They use a unique hashed md5 with salt algorithm so when passwords are entered and a user logs into the system the password which is sent across the internet will be encrypted with 32 hexadecimal characters. Such high level security makes it virtually impossible for unauthorised users to gain access. Other security features include the monitoring of IP addresses, password expiry dates and automatic authentication failure lockout after 5 failed login attempts.
ASBO section and Image Gallery - This section allows scheme administrators to share information and images about persons subject to ASBO's to scheme members with the relevant access permissions. The example below shows how this information is displayed:
Incident reports with comprehensive search facility - Every SIRCS Database comes with a comprehensive search facility both for incident reports and within the environmental section. This is easy to use and includes a key word search. Police officers will have the advantage of having free access to search the SIRCS National Business Crime Reduction Database and the National SIRCS Environmental Database. This national access helps to disrupt and reduce cross border crime and facilitates proportionate, secure and effective information sharing between crime reduction partnerships and the police. (Please note our systems have been checked and reviewed by a senior compliance team from the Information Commissioners Office.)
Optional public reporting facility - Neighbourhood-SIRCS schemes have the option to allow the public to report incidents and submit images to a number of Public Authorities using just one electronic form. This is done by the relevant agencies selecting which report topics they would like to be automatically made aware off. For example the Education Department could select to receive information on truancy, the Environmental Health Department might select fly-tipping, litter, and noise and the police could select to receive all reports relating to retail crime, stolen property, criminal damage and anti-social behaviour. This feature is intended to complement existing reporting channels.
Different access permissions for each user group - Members can be given different access permissions. This allows for sensitive information to be shared without unauthorized persons being able to view or search for the information. There are currently 3 standard access levels: Police/Local Authority, Partner agencies and Neighbourhood Watch/Community groups. A further lower level restricted access permission can be added if the public are allowed access to your system.
Active participation - Each registered user has their own action log which provides a complete audit trail going back 5 years. This not only records what a member has viewed and printed, it enables administrators to monitor who is using the system. SIRCS partnerships can separate their members into two group's namely passive and proactive members. For example 80% of your information will invariably come from 20% of your members. With paper-based systems it is impossible to know if members are taking the trouble to read intelligence briefings, incident reports or look at images of suspects and offenders. Measuring how many members regularly access your information and look at images etc is important so that you can engage with the passive members. This targeted engagement is important for two reasons. Firstly there is a tendency for scheme administrators to spend 80% of their time engaging with the 20% of pro-active members. This in a lot of ways is like preaching to the converted. By engaging with and selling the value and benefits of active participation to your passive members you can change the dynamics of your partnership and ultimately its effectiveness.
Active Participation and Community Engagement Auto Responder* - This is a unique and bespoke service only found on SIRCS. Please see page 5 of this document for more information.

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