The Turlock Police Department announced last week that it has launched a mobile app that is now available on some operating systems.

The app, called Turlock PD Mobile, is now available in the Google Play Store, but is not yet available in the App Store on Apple devices.

According to Turlock Police Captain Steve Williams, the app is intended to consolidate the several different information channels that the police department has.

“Last year we made a proposal to Council to enter an agreement with a private company to help us develop a mobile device application for your phone, your iPad, and any other mobile devices that would basically consolidate many of the information sources that we put out to the public into one convenient application,” said Williams.

The app consists of 12 links to several different sources of information, including:

• News – Featuring the Daily Activity Log and Turlock PD’s Nixle page
• Crime Maps – Showing a list or maps of crimes over a seven day period
• Directory – A list of several importants numbers from divisions and services of the Turlock PD
• Twitter – Links to both the Turlock Police Department’s and Turlock Police Chief Rob Jackson’s Twitter accounts
• Facebook – Link to the City of Turlock – Turlock Police Department Facebook page
• Alerts – Announcing traffic, delays, or other important alerts for the public
• Online Reporting – Link to the Online Reporting page where residents can report some non-emergency crimes
• Neighborhood Issues – Link to the Neighborhood Services page where residents can report abandoned vehicles, graffiti, and similar neighborhood issues
• Videos – Videos posted on the Turlock PD’s YouTube channel
• Crime Stoppers – Residents can submit tips anonymously and possible receive a cash reward
• Copy of Report – Information on who is able to receive a copy of a police report and a link to download the application for a report
• Report Probationers – Link to report criminal activity by those on probation directly to the Turlock Police Department

Those running an Android operating system on their mobile device can download the Turlock PD Mobile app in the Google Play Store now. The app is not available in the App Store for Apple devices just yet, but Williams said he expects it to be there soon.

“If you have an Android device, it’s available now,” said Williams. “If you have an Apple device, it should be available — pending Apple’s final approval — hopefully by the end of this week, perhaps next week.”

The announcement of the app at Tuesday’s Turlock City Council meeting came to the excitement of many within the City.

“I think this is going to be a very useful tool,” said Turlock Mayor Gary Soiseth. “This is something that when I came into office I talked to the City Manager and City Attorney about. I think it’ll give us a good overlay about what’s happening where and when.”