Your home is only as safe as your neighborhood, and no one understands this better than Ring, the smart home company dedicated to reducing crime in residential communities. Recently acquired by Amazon, the firm is continuing its mission of enhancing safety for everyone. On May 8, Ring launched the Neighbors app on both iOS and Android. The app promises to provide all community members with real-time local crime and safety information, and is now more important than ever, given the results of Ring’s Home Security Study which suggests that neighborhood crime continues to be a salient issue across the United States. And in hopes of combatting this problem, Ring has partnered with National Night Out, whose events seek to connect neighborhoods with local law enforcement.
Per the Ring Home Security Study, three out of four homeowners believe that neighborhood crime is a problem, and indeed, 30 percent of homeowners say that someone in their neighborhood has been burglarized in the last 12 months. A surprising one in four U.S. homeowners who took part in the study said they had been part of a home burglary, with the average value of goods stolen listed as $2,000. Forty-five percent of folks say, however, that a neighborhood watch can prevent these sorts of issues.
Enter Neighbors, which requires simply that users opt-in to joining their respective neighborhoods. Then, you can customize the geographic area for which you would like to receive notifications (you can only participate in your own area by verifying your location), and you’ll immediately begin receiving alerts.
Previously, in order to access this information, neighborhood folks had to download the Ring app (and preferably, have a Ring smart doorbell and camera). And plenty of families had already made this investment — in fact, Ring claims that its Neighbors network already has millions of users, who have aided in catching and preventing package thefts and burglaries, and have generally helped keep neighborhoods safe. And for added security, police and sheriff’s departments across the country have also joined in on the Neighbors network to monitor and share safety alerts.
“At Ring, we come to work every day with the mission of reducing crime in neighborhoods. Over the past few years we have learned that, when neighbors, the Ring team and law enforcement all work together, we can create safer communities,” said Jamie Siminoff, chief inventor and founder of Ring. “Neighbors is meant to facilitate real-time communication between these groups, while maintaining neighbor privacy first and foremost. By bringing security to every neighbor with the free Neighbors app, communities can stay on top of crime and safety alerts as they happen.”
The app will send users push notifications about potential security risks, and will also display recent crime and safety alerts posted by their neighbors, as well as the Ring team and local police officers. If you find any suspicious activity in your area, you can play the good samaritan as well by uploading your own text, photo, or video to the app.
And with Ring’s partnership with National Night Out, Ring believes that communities will be even better protected. As Siminoff said, “We’re excited to partner with National Night Out to keep communities up-to-date on local crime and safety information. Over the past few years we have learned that when neighbors, the Ring team and law enforcement all work together, we can create safer communities.”
Matt Peskin, the creator of National Night Out, echoed these sentiments, noting, “With the help of partners like Ring, we have been successful in developing National Night Out into the nation’s largest crime prevention, safety and police-community event. National Night Out turns the clock back to a time when neighbors knew neighbors, routinely looked out for one another and everyone knew the cop on the beat. While those days are gone, National Night Out brings back that spirit of caring and awareness that made those neighborhoods safer places.”
Updated on July 19: Ring and National Night Out partner to make Neighbors more effective.
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