The program is the same as the one announced by Dover police in October 2015.
The Delaware State Police is the first state police agency in the country to utilize Nextdoor.com with selected troops throughout the state piloting the social media platform. Neighbors across the state will be able to work together to increase safety and strengthen virtual neighborhood watch programs with the support of the Delaware State Police and Nextdoor.
The Delaware State Police announced this partnership to provide safer and more secure communities with the help of Delaware residents, Bratz said. Using the system, troopers can effectively share crime prevention and safety updates, free community safety events, and urgent alert notifications. The public can expect to receive posts related to crime and safety updates from the DSP on Nextdoor, he said.
Nextdoor is a free private and secure social media website available to Delaware residents. The website is kept private and accessible only to residents of their neighborhood who have a verified address. Neighbors establish and self-manage their own Nextdoor.com website. The Delaware State Police will not be able to access resident’s websites, contact information, or content and only can only see the number of crime and safety posts, Bratz said.
“As a result we can reach out to that community and offer help, direct resources and police services,” he said.
“We encourage others to visit and research the website nextdoor.com and simply follow the easy steps to log in and after establishing their very own website visit help.nextdoor.com for any questions or concerns,” Bratz said.
Police say Nextdoor.com is not the way to request emergency services, police services, report criminal or suspicious activity, file a report, etc. Anyone needing emergency services, will should call 911.
As the Nextdoor program has begun, it has proven to be an essential and well-adopted social media tool to share information for Delaware residents, Bratz said. Already more than 371 neighborhoods have launched their private and secured website. Currently 79 more neighborhoods have initiated their websites in Delaware with more than 25,000 community members actively engaged within the Delaware State Police jurisdiction.
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