OWL killed off by Mayor's Office

 

I find it hard to understand why the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime are discontinuing this very useful service.

This message is coming from the company that created OWL, it is not a police or Neighbourhood Watch message.

It is with deep regret and much sadness that I must inform you that OWL will be terminated on 31^st October.

The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) will no longer be funding OWL and the Met will not take over its funding. Without funding to maintain and operate OWL, we have no choice but to shut it down.

OWL was adopted by 18 London boroughs over the last 10 years so that your local police, their partner agencies, and Neighbourhood Watch coordinators can send urgent messages directly to residents and businesses. Over 1,700 Met police officers were trained to use OWL and many diligently kept the public informed on local issues. Each year, 14,000 alerts and updates for Londoners were published on OWL which generated 6 million emails and 12 million push notifications per year.

Your Personal Data:

OWL is the only communications platform that has kept everyone’s data safe without any data breaches or privacy issues. It has also provided 100% availability, 24x7 every year for the last decade. As per our obligations under GDPR, your personal data held on OWL will be securely erased in a timely manner following shutdown. There is no need to contact us to request erasure.

Proud to have been part of it:

Thank you for being part of OWL. During its time, many residents responded to appeals which helped the police find suspects, stolen cars and vulnerable missing people. As an example of how effective OWL has been in just one borough over a 5-year period, OWL members helped resolve £8.3m of crime and prevent £10m of further crime from happening. These are modest estimates based only on cases we were made aware of.

OWL helped boost public trust & confidence in the Met among the thousands who rely on OWL for information and reassurance. According to MOPAC’s Trust & Confidence survey of Dec 2023, 75% of boroughs using OWL had above-average trust compared with the rest of London. Boroughs ranked #1, #2, and #4 with the highest trust were using OWL. A survey among users in Enfield and Haringey showed that 76% said OWL provides the most up-to-date information from the police compared to social media platforms.

You may continue to receive messages until the end of 31^st Oct.

Stay safe, London.

 Gary Fenton 
Creator of OWL, Direct Path Solutions