Over the past four years, NextDoor had partnered with more than 1,800 public agencies to help them better connect and communicate with the residents they serve.
Police departments across the country have partnered with us to improve citywide communication and to enhance community policing efforts. Using Nextdoor, police have sent targeted, hyperlocal information to neighborhoods across their jurisdiction, opening a line of communication between them and their neighborhoods.
Today, we are excited to announce that we are taking police and neighbor-to-neighbor communications to the next level with Nextdoor’s newest feature for public agencies: Forward to Police. This feature will allow neighbors to forward their own Crime & Safety posts and Urgent Alerts on Nextdoor directly to their local police department with the click of a button.
It’s important to note that Forward to Police is not an emergency reporting system, but a new way for residents to share safety concerns and content they are posting on Nextdoor with their local public safety agency. We always encourage residents to call 911 in the case of an emergency.
Over the last several months, more than 200 of our local public safety partners have turned on Forward to Police during our pilot period, receiving messages from residents on everything from package thefts, vandalism, traffic complaints, and car break-ins in the neighborhood.
In Norfolk, VA, Forward to Police has, not only alerted the Norfolk Police Department to crimes in their jurisdiction, but also served as a valuable educational tool for the department. “We found that residents underestimated incidents in their area, assuming that they weren’t important enough to file a formal report,” says Daniel Hudson, Public Information Officer with the Norfolk Police Department. “Now, we hear about these incidents and follow up with residents to ensure they report it. It’s really allowed us to come full circle in our communications with neighbors across Norfolk.”
We’re proud to partner with agencies who work every day to build even stronger and safer neighborhoods across the country, and are pleased to offer them a new feature that will make it even easier to connect with their residents about crime and safety concerns.
If your public agency is interested in joining Nextdoor, contact us here to get started.
