About Nation of Neighbors
Nation of Neighbors is Neighborhood Watch for the 21st century. We facilitate real-time collaboration within communities and between community members and Law Enforcement. Our mission is to enable Citizens and Law Enforcement to work together to fight and deter crime and improve our communities.
Project History
Nation of Neighbors began in Jefferson County, WV as Watch Jefferson County in January 2005. Watch Jefferson was one of the first web applications to use Google Maps to display crime data and the first to allow citizens to report crime to police and their neighbors online. Nation of Neighbors will build on what we learned from Watch Jefferson and make the service available nationally.
The Basics
Nation of Neighbors accepts reports online and sends email or text message alerts to members whose alert criteria match the incoming report. Reports can also be aggregated by Community or Law Enforcement jurisdiction.
Members can add their community to Nation of Neighbors and use the website to discuss reports within the community, participate in community discussion, share news, photos or documents or manage upcoming events.
Our Reporting System
The heart of Nation of Neighbors is our report system. Anyone can file a report and all reports are stored anonymously – even if filed by a logged-in member. Our proprietary report algorithm scores each report and assigns it a trustworthiness index. Based on the score the report is either broadcast immediately or held in a moderation queue for review by a member. Once a member has reviewed the report and approved it the approved report is broadcast immediately. Community groups and Law Enforcement may localize the default report categories to fit their specific needs. In the event that multiple reports seem to describe an identical or related incident the report system creates an incident and can notify local authorities of the size and scope of the affected area as well as members possibly affected by the incident. Additionally, Law Enforcement can directly contact or alert members within their jurisdiction or within custom geographic regions.
Membership
Membership in Nation of Neighbors is free and open to anyone on a referral basis.
Community group creation is free and currently open to any community in the United States or Canada. We are planning on providing service worldwide as resources allow. Please contact us if you would like to test Nation of Neighbors outside the United States or Canada.
Law Enforcement use is also free but is subject to verification. Please contact us to add your Law Enforcement agency.
Caveats, Disclaimers and Excuses
While we ran Watch Jefferson County successfully for several years, Nation of Neighbors and this website are brand-spanking new, built from the ground up to provide tools for real-time collaborative neighborhood watch and reporting. We’re starting out with very limited volunteer staff and an even smaller budget. Please, take it easy on us - at least initially. If you find a bug or something that doesn’t work as expected please let us know about it using our feedback form or our contact page and give us a chance to fix it. What we currently lack in resources is more than offset by enthusiasm and determination.
Please note that any use of Nation of Neighbors for research use or news reporting must have prior approval.
Any use of the Nation of Neighbors report system to promote or advertise a commercial interest, send spam or other messages that are either illegal or detract from the purpose behind Nation of Neighbors will result in immediate suspension of your Neighbor of Nations account.