Neighborhood Crime watches are nothing new, but technology is making them a little easier.Crime watch meetings offer a chance for neighbors to talk about the happenings on their streets. In recent years, new technology has helped the cause of sharing information.With e-mail and some of the new technology, what we [neighborhood watches] wanted to do was try and find some of the information, find trends, and share information,” Terre Haute City Councilman Neil Garrison said.
With something like a neighborhood crime watch, information and communication is key.All of this information is out there, and it’s getting faster and more accurate,” Garrison explained.How to share that information has become a growing question.
The neighborhood watch program has always been that archaic system in today’s standards,” Vigo County Sheriff Greg Ewing said.Typical neighborhood watches are about observation and communication. With this new mobile application, if you notice something on your street, you can share it with local police and neighbors with just a simple click.
Now you have something that you’re going to be able to carry with you on your smart phone or your iPad. You can take a picture of what you’re seeing and report what you’re seeing right on the spot,” Sheriff Ewing explained.How it works is the application allows you to report suspicious people, cars, loud music, drug deals, or other concerns by just a few clicks.
Any way we can get this to grow with more people watching each other is a big success,” Garrison added. “If it’s through e-mails or phone calls or this new application we have, it’s just going to benefit everyone even more.Once a report is submitted, the items are shared with local police and sheriff departments.
Sponsored by the National Neighborhood Watch group, the National Sheriffs Association supports the app as a good addition to fighting crime.It’s about getting the people involved, watching out for suspicious activity, and reporting it.
The application does warn users to use 911 to report any criminal or dangerous activity in progress.The application is available for download on various devices. You can search for Neighborhood Watch in your application store to see if its available for your device.

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