The reason for starting this campaign is a recent spate of four burglaries on my street in a week, including my own and a relatives. I live in a typical town and had been blissfully unaware of the crime in my area but this left us vulnerable and unprepared. All neighborhoods experience crime, the idea is not to be alarmist but to be enabled. After being burgled in the middle of the night whilst we slept it became apparent that the main advantage the criminals had was surprise and confidence and the main problem in identifying possible suspects could be a lack of coordination and communication. Knowledge is power, and awareness and preparation are our best defense. I am not happy that all decent residents can do is wait and worry to see who will be next.
Now I have been made a victim I have been added to a Neighborhood Watch scheme. This is great and I am intending to include this and the local police force with social media against crime. The combination of all three could be a winning formula. However, previous to this incident there is no way I would have thought to be involved voluntarily. Today's society is already time stretched. If you have a young family you are probably already maxed out on meetings, events and fund raising demands. The sense of community people had years ago has been eroded and many of us are averse to coming across as nosy or interfering. We no longer have the luxury of a local bobby who knows everyone. This creates a certain isolation with us all in our own separate boxes, caught up in our own affairs which has created an advantage for criminals.
Social media can enable people to form a network of eyes and ears working as one in real time for mutual benefit. Participants can choose to go about their usual days remaining largely anonymous and hopefully never need to use the service. Equally, if you are so inclined it could be a way to get to know people nearby, reforming lost communities. It can be whatever you want it to be without obligation.
I chose to set up a Facebook page to highlight the potential of social media on a international level, connect groups that wish to be linked and to share affordable and simple tips on home security. I have also set up a Twitter account and Facebook group for my local area, as groups notify members by default when there is a new post or alert. Also group members can participate in chats, upload photos to shared albums such as lost and found, missing pets, stolen property or public safety issues (burned out lights, overgrown walkways, abandoned cars, broken windows and so on). In addition to an open setting, groups have more privacy settings. In closed groups, posts are only visible to group members and secret groups could be useful if you live in a high crime area and want to remain anonymous, inviting only people you trust.
After thinking about the various options I think an open group may be the way forward if you are targeting a larger area. It would be easier to include local businesses and schools and spread the net further. It's important to try and include local businesses, especially the service industry workers such as, restaurants, milkmen, taxi firms, corner shops, checkout operators and cleaners. These people are often the last ones going home at night or starting early in the morning and can be your best eyes and ears. Inform local newspapers that you have started an online community for your area. Publicising you are a member of a social media against crime group could act as a deterrent against becoming a target of crime. I want potential burglars to know that the residents of my street can report their activity in an instant.
A note to all - when posting alerts to your group or Twitter be mindful about posting information that feeds details on your short comings in personal security. This is the very thing criminals use to help them identify weaknesses:
1. Share crime incident descriptions and descriptions of perpetrators. Give the street name but not the address.
2. Private message nearby neighbors if you want to inform them you are going away so they can be extra vigilant. Think about posting holiday news or days out onto social network sites after you have returned.
3. Check out your current Facebook privacy settings. If they are open or you do not personally know all your Facebook friends consider turning off your location settings on your posts and photos. Be extra careful when using social networks such as Foursquare.
