The vast majority of burglar alarms that are reported to 911 are false. So when an alert came to my inbox that a burglary was occurring on the street I live on, it was a bit disconcerting but ultimately unnecessary. The message I received had a NOPD incident number (the letter at the beginning and last two digits of the number indicate what month/year the incident occurred in) and said it had been reported to Crime Stoppers. It also had a link to more information about the incident on Robert E Lee (now Allen Toussaint) Street.
Neighborhood alert is a program in which neighbors cooperate with each other and law enforcement officers to reduce crime. It trains residents to recognize suspicious activities and report them to police. Neighborhoods and apartment communities with active programs have seen dramatic decreases in burglary and other crimes.
It starts with an initial meeting to gauge interest and begin planning the program. Once a group is formed, it’s important to include all community residents — young and old, single and married, renters and homeowners. It’s also a good idea to include the local sheriff’s office at meetings to provide guidance, resources and support tailored to your community’s needs.
One of the best tools to add to your neighborhood alert toolkit is DialMyCalls. Adding this service to your neighborhood allows neighbors to call in and leave messages letting others know when they are out of town and who, if anyone, will be watching their home for them. It makes it easy for neighbors to work together, keeping each other and the community safe.