DeLand, FL – A free social media service designed to keep neighborhoods safe has expanded over the past year in DeLand.
The DeLand Police Department says 33 neighborhoods in their city now have pages on Nextdoor.com, a California-based company that specializes in creating secure online gathering spots for neighborhoods.
The city started out with 22 neighborhoods set up in Nextdoor when the program was formally rolled out last January.
DeLand PD Officer Rod Hancock says this program replaced an e-mail alert system the city set up in 2013 after positive reviews from residents who tested out Nextdoor in 4 neighborhoods throughout the city.
“The DeLand Police Department would like to see more residents using this valuable program and is issuing a challenge to our residents to double the use of Nextdoor.com,” Hancock added. “We encourage residents currently using this program to invite your neighbors and friends not using it to sign up and give it a try.”
The service has worked so well it’s convinced other local law enforcement agencies to try it, per Hancock.
Nextdoor allows residents to sign up for free to the zone that corresponds to the neighborhood where they live in real life, but only once they’ve verified some personal information to make sure they actually do live in that neighborhood.
From there, residents in DeLand can create and manage private websites, get to know any other neighbors that sign up in that zone and have Nextdoor serve as an online community gathering place.
Hancock says Nextdoor gives police and other DeLand officials a way to effectively communicate with that entire neighborhood for whatever reason they deem necessary, be it for safety reasons or to talk about a local event.
Hancock added that they’ve found it to be very effective for organizing neighborhood crime watch programs as well as a good way to speak to fellow neighbors about anything that may seem strange or out of place.
Nextdoor can also be used by neighbors for non-crime issues, such as tracking down lost pets, posting garage sales and other kinds of neighborhood events.
According to Nextdoor’s website, all information shared on their service is password-protected and cannot be accessed by those outside the neighborhood or found on Google or other search engines.
DeLand PD says Nextdoor does not share personal information with any third parties, which also minimizes the chance any personal information could end up in the hands of criminals.
For more about Nextdoor, click here. You can also call Hancock at 386-626-7647 or email him at hancockr@deland.org.
Copyright 2015 Southern Stone Communications.