Safe neighborhoods from many connected eyes.
Red Bank's newly appointed Chief of Police, Steve McCarthy, gets that social technology can be a huge assist to keeping neighborhoods safe. Take this latest text announcement sent by the RBPD using the Borough's citizen alert tool:
Red Bank Police are investigating a suspicious incident that occurred at approximately 1 PM on Prospect Avenue. Two male subjects claiming to be utility company employees approached a residence and attempted to gain access for the purpose of installing water equipment. The resident became suspicious and did not admit the subjects to the home. Subjects are described as two hispanic males with dark complexion, one in his late 40's wearing a black coat and a cap with the letters "CA" on it. Second subject is in his 20's last seen wearing a black jacket with white piping. Subjects were operating a tan or cream colored 4 door vehicle. Anyone observing suspicious activity is urged to call the police department immediately. RBPD
The above announcement landed in my inbox minutes ago and I was able to forward via email it to a bunch of my neighbors who are home today. It's almost unthinkable to imagine this kind of quick report->distribute information cycle in the days before social technology.
No doubt there are a few obstacles to overcome (SMS is arguably more ubiquitous than email, collecting and maintaining residents' contact information, etc.), but a scenario where several dozen residents in the area of the activity have been warned about it within an hour of it being reported is clearly preferable to the police sending out a few patrol cars to monitor the situation.
Many eyeballs connected via email and SMS can be a serious impediment to crime.
