Following an event at the Dunadry Hotel in Antrim on Tuesday 29 September, the Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed that PSNI Connect will go live across all districts on Thursday.

PSNI Connect is a free community engagement service that allows people to keep in touch with local officers, raise concerns and receive feedback on how issues are being addressed. After a pilot in Lisburn and Castlereagh and Newry, Mourne and Down at the end of June, the platform is now being rolled out region-wide.

Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said: "We are delighted to be launching PSNI Connect nationwide on Thursday.

"By signing up to PSNI Connect, you will have direct contact with neighbourhood officers working in the area where you live, work or frequent. Updates and information will be shared about the work local police are doing, along with crime prevention advice, local appeals for information and ongoing events in your local area.

"You will also be able to complete local surveys to tell police what impacts you, share feedback and help shape local policing priorities. All contact is private, it cannot be viewed by anyone else in the community and therefore you will not receive any unwanted commentary. No one will know you are signed up to the platform.

"PSNI Connect gives you a voice around what happens in your local community." Around 120 stakeholders attended the Antrim launch event, including representatives from the Executive Programme on Paramilitarism and Organised Crime (EPPOC), which funded the platform under the benefit of 'increasing community voice'. Police Community Safety Partnerships (PCSPs) and partners from education, housing and sport were also present. Assistant Chief Constable Henderson and Superintendent Joanne Gibson, who leads the project, addressed the event alongside officers involved in the pilot and colleagues from similar initiatives elsewhere in the UK, sharing good practice and lessons learned.

Superintendent Joanne Gibson said: "PSNI Connect is about 'Connecting communities, building confidence'. We want to work with communities across Northern Ireland to help prevent and deter crime. We want to work in partnership to solve the issues that are impacting communities most.

"To date we have had around 1500 people signing up to PSNI Connect in Lisburn and Castlereagh and Newry, Mourne and Down. I want to say a big thank you to the engagement chief inspectors Megan Rocks and Adam Ruston for supporting this in their area, and to all the officers throughout the PSNI who have now taken part in training in the run up to the launch in their areas.

"We want people to get involved and sign up, so be a part of that. When you do sign up you can decide which information you want to receive from us and which information you're not interested in. You can help shape PSNI Connect as it continues to evolve and grow throughout Northern Ireland.

"I really look forward to seeing how PSNI Connect develops and helps local communities in the coming weeks, months and years. Thank you for being part of that."

To sign up to your local PSNI Connect, visit www.psniconnect.co.uk.

PSNI Connect is not suitable for reporting crimes or incidents. For non-emergencies, report online at www.psni.police.uk/report or call 101. In an emergency, dial 999.