reportMyloss.com is a

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...

for the reporting of

lost property A lost and found (American English) or lost property (British English), or lost articles (also Canadian English) is an office in a public building or area where people can go to retrieve lost articles that may have been found by others. Frequen ...

by the general public in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It was launched in April 2008 and is endorsed by the

Avon and Somerset Constabulary Avon and Somerset Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in the county of Somerset and in four districts that used to be in the defunct county of Avon: Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and So ...

, with which the information is shared.

History

The site was launched with the intention of freeing police time for concentration on other important issues. It was created by Recipero, a

privately held company A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...

which receives a monthly sum of undisclosed amount.

Main features

The website allows users to enter descriptions and upload photographs of their lost items. Information about registered items is transferred by the service to selected police

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...

systems.https://thenmpr.com/eire.html (Irish police are barred from querying Recipero's databases.) If items are recovered by the police, they can be reunited with their owners by using the information retrieved from the database.

Reception

A 2009

Institute for Public Policy Research The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is a progressive think tank based in London. It was founded in 1988 and is an independent registered charity. IPPR has offices in Newcastle upon Tyne, Manchester, and Edinburgh. Funding comes from ...

report entitled ''Arrested Development: Unlocking change in the police service'' points to

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

and intermediary sites such as ''reportMyloss'' as ways of easing the collection of community intelligence by the police. Retailers in

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...

were to be visited before Christmas 2010 to encourage people to use the service.

References

{{Reflist Companies based in Somerset Lost and found Companies established in 2008