Police here are hoping that partnering with the social network Nextdoor.com will help empower residents to improve safety.
The St. Petersburg Police Department announced today it will begin using the private social network for neighborhoods, to improve citywide and neighbor-to-neighbor communications.
Nearly 2,000 neighborhoods are using Nextdoor in the greater Tampa-St. Petersburg area. In St. Petersburg specifically, more than 200 neighborhoods are using Nextdoor, representing over 70% of the city.
"From the perspective of a community based policing model, this alliance is a natural extension of our Park, Walk and Talk program and will allow us to connect online more effectively with our neighborhoods," said Anthony Holloway, Chief of Police.
Nextdoor says the St. Petersburg Police Department is the largest in the area to partner with the company. Partnerships exist with:
- Town of Bellaire
- Lakeland Police Department
- Largo Police Department
- Seminole County Sheriff's Office
How will it work?
The Police Department's Community Service Officers will be assigned to specific Nextdoor neighborhoods Residents will be able to send messages directly to their designated officers.
Police Department will be able to post information, such as important news, services, programs, free events, and emergency notifications to Nextdoor websites within the city.
Neighborhoods establish and self-manage their own Nextdoor website and the Police Department will not be able to access residents' websites, contact information, or content.
All members must verify that they live within the neighborhood before joining Nextdoor. Information shared on Nextdoor is password protected and cannot be accessed by Google or other search engines.
