San Angelo Police Partner with Nextdoor for Neighborhoods
The San Angelo Police Department is excited to announce a partnership with Nextdoor (nextdoor.com), the private social network for neighborhoods, to improve citywide and neighbor-to-neighbor communications.
Nextdoor-SAPD will launch tomorrow, February 15.
Led by Chief Frank Carter, this integration with Nextdoor will enable the San Angelo Police Department to use Nextdoor to build stronger, safer communities with the help of San Angelo residents. The San Angelo Police Department and Nextdoor neighborhoods will be able to work together to increase safety and strengthen virtual neighborhood watch. “San Angelo is an innovative and resourceful city, and joining Nextdoor is another way to further our efforts in making San Angelo an even better place to live,” said Chief Carter. “With Nextdoor, we can help empower neighbors to keep their communities safe and connected and give them the ability to collaborate on virtual neighborhood watch efforts.”
Nextdoor has already proven to be an essential and well-adopted tool for San Angelo residents. More than 25 neighborhoods, representing 58% of the City of San Angelo, have started Nextdoor websites.
With Nextdoor, San Angelo residents can create private neighborhood websites to share information, including neighborhood public safety issues, community events and activities, local services, and even lost pets. The 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.
“This partnership with Nextdoor gives neighbors an easy way to not only get to know each other, but develop stronger relationships with their local police department,” said Chief Carter. “We encourage San Angelo resident to join us on Nextdoor so together we can build stronger and safer neighborhoods.”
Nextdoor is free for residents and the Police Department. Each San Angelo neighborhood has its own private Nextdoor neighborhood website, accessible only to residents of that neighborhood. 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.
Those interested in joining their neighborhood’s Nextdoor website can visit nextdoor.com and enter their address. If residents have questions about their Nextdoor website, please visit help.nextdoor.com.
With the implementation of Nextdoor, the Department will be phasing out its Facebook Blue Watch Program, which served to facilitate direct communication with citizens and their respective Sector Liaison Officers. The SLO Unit was dissolved in 2016 and Blue Watch is no longer sustainable. Blue Watch members will be notified of the change through a series of messages over the next several weeks.
For more information about the implementation or interview opportunities, contact Sergeant Tim Coffman at (325) 481-2709.