Phone technology in hunt for killer

Oct 30 2007 by Caroline Innes, Liverpool Daily Post

Phone technology in hunt for killer

NEW mobile phone technology is to be used by detectives in the Rhys Jones murder case to help trace potentially vital witnesses.

Merseyside Police is the first force in the country to use a device which will transmit Bluetooth messages to all Bluetooth enabled phones within a 100m radius at a rate of 21 messages every four seconds.

As a trial of the technology, the transmitter will be based in a police car patrolling the Croxteth and Croxteth Park area appealing for both a woman who was seen driving a red car in the area, and a teenager to come forward.

Last night, detectives said if the appeals were not successful, they will then use the transmitter at sporting events and in the city centre to target as many people as possible.

They also hope that the technology, supplied currently for free from Manchester-based company GR Technology, will in the future be used in other police investigations.

The senior investigating officer in the case, Det Supt Dave Kelly, said: “These appeals could provide information which is vital to our investigation and we are trialling this new technology to see if it can reach new people.

“We still believe that the woman in the red car saw something significant and has not come forward either for personal reasons or because the message that we need to speak to her has not reached her yet. We will use whatever means we can to progress this investigation.”

Officers have also arranged for an advertising board to be placed in the area, appealing for the driver of the red car to contact police.

The woman had an empty child seat in the car at the time of the incident.

ANYONE with any information is asked to call the Major Incident Room on 0151 777 8722 or Crime- stoppers on 0800 555 111.