In the not-too-distant past, using the internet was something you could only do by logging on to a computer that took up most of your spare room – and stealing a PC was a complicated effort undertaken by only the most determined of criminals.

Fast-forward a few years, however, and the story is very different. Smart phones, tablets, netbooks and other expensive internet-enabled devices have brought an entirely new dimension to communications on the move. Millions engage each other through the portals of social media in every situation from work meetings to nights out, making them are a far-easier target for common-or-garden thieves.

The theft problem is particularly prevalent in busy towns and cities where there are thriving business communities. With mobile communications turning cafes into surrogate offices, opportunists are out surfing tables looking for tempting targets. It is an endeavour at which they are all-too- often successful.

But the crime spree has not gone unnoticed by the police who have been deploying their own technology to fight back against offenders and make their enterprise less attractive. And officers in Met Safer Neighbourhood Teams have managed to use the deployment of their state-of-the-art equipment to forge closer relationships with their communities into the bargain.

Enter Hermes – a netbook-based system mated to a supermarket-style scanner. The device clocks barcodes and uploads them onto the Immobilise property database with its key function to record the unique IMEI numbers on phones. Unlike the old paper-based approach, this equipment allows items to be uploaded in minutes and the system does not store any information once it has been dispatched, meaning there are no data protection issues.

With thefts hitting the business community in Holborn, Hermes has been the catalyst for a new relationship between commerce and the police. InMidtown, a Business Improvement District representing 500 companies and organisations, bought the equipment for officers in their area’s Safer Neighbourhood Team, where it has proved an excellent tool for engaging the community.

“We have a perfect fit with InMidtown in the sense that we all want the Holborn business area to be a safer place to live and work,” said PC Simon Gray, an officer with the team. “Obviously we have always recorded and marked property but we did it in a very slow and longhand way.

“Hermes, on the other hand, is a very tactile piece of kit that you can use with a minimal amount of training – we believe it saves about five minutes of contact time per person and we are re-investing that in improving the contact experience.”

Crucially, the kit has enabled the teams to venture out into cafes and into businesses to take the crime prevention message to the community – as well as encouraging them to record their property on the Immobilise database as a precautionary measure.

“People are curious about Hermes and want to know more when we show it to them, and this helps us although it does take customer service skills to sell it to people and get them to record ,” PC Gray told PoliceOracle.com “But we also have the benefit of being visible when we turn up – and the sight of an officer or PCSO can often act as a deterrent and stop offenders coming into an area.”

The effect of the equipment is all the more potent, however, when it is used alongside its Apollo twin – another scanning device purchased by InMidtown that can read the IMEI numbers of phones and determine whether the device is stolen.

PC Gray believes that the Apollo kit will ultimately prove all the more successful once a critical mass of information has been recorded via Hermes. “Frontloading data will very useful, because you then have the opportunity to deploy Apollo in a more effective way,” the officer stressed.

“It could, for example, be used at clubs with a condition of entry that people have their phones checked – or perhaps used on static stop-and-search. Effectively you are deploying something akin to ANPR for barcodes.”

Anecdotally, the initial use of Hermes appears to have had something of a deterrent effect. During November and December – traditionally a time when theft becomes prevalent in the run up to Christmas – figures did not increase as much as the 35 or more thefts a month expected during the period.

For InMidtown, the partnership approach has brought its own benefits – increasing awareness of how vulnerable business staff can be to mobile device theft is a key winner, as is improving the sharing of information with the police. The organisation has also ramped up its own campaign, encouraging instant messaging between members to warn when a theft has taken place.

Tess Mavrogortado, CEO of the Business Improvement District, praised the Safer Neighbourhood Team for their work. “We have always had a good relationship with the Met and we are pleased to have bought the equipment for our officers,” she said.

“This unique partnership ensures that this thriving centre of commercial businesses and culture remains a district that people want to both work in and visit.”

While PC Gray admitted it is “very much early days” for Hermes and Apollo, he believes that the potential is there to make a difference in discouraging thieves.

The initial results – and improved engagement with the public – are certainly encouraging. The intelligent use and deployment of mobile technology, it seems, is having an effect against those who seek to steal technology from others.

For more information about Hermes and Apollo see http://www.radio-tactics.com