Sussex Police are the first in Britain to use the Internet to try to cut crime.

The force is launching a scheme to allow people travelling through Gatwick Airport to report minor crimes from anywhere in the world.

If a passenger has luggage items stolen, they will be able to complete an on-line form from anywhere in the world. This will be automatically e-mailed to Sussex Police from a laptop or desktop computer via the Internet.

In addition, they are hoping to install computer kiosks in the South and North terminals for passengers to use.

Information computer kiosks are already planned for the front offices of Brighton police station and Billingshurst parish hall.

If the crime-reporting at Gatwick proves successful, then this facility will be added to these kiosks. Brighton and Billingshurst have been picked because of their contrasting size and locations.

The self-serve Internet system for passengers is open 24-hours and will save victims making expensive long-distance telephone calls or waiting until they return to Britain.

The pilot projects, the first in the country, are expected to be launched in the spring and, if successful, they may be introduced throughout the county.

Det Insp Merv Wyeth, who is launching the scheme, said: "The whole idea is to save time and allow the victims to do the reporting for themselves.

"Clearly, we are not talking about the reporting of major crime, but thefts in transit, lost property and similar minor incidents.

"This is an important piece of work and will enable us to increase the range of services and improve our accessibility for the public."

Officers anywhere in Sussex will be able to tap into the reports by using an inter-

nal system called Intranet.

Sussex Police, which already has a website, is now developing an on-line form for crime victims to fill in. The web address will be published at a later date.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.