Neighborhood alert is the communication network that allows neighbors to stay informed about crime and other local concerns in their community. The program enables residents to act as eyes and ears for the community by reporting suspicious activities or people to law enforcement and by offering tips on home security, such as putting interior lights on timers when you’re out of town.
The program is modeled after the “neighborhood watch” movement in Germany where volunteer patrols are organized as independent groups or within the framework of a block association to improve safety and security in neighborhoods. The program also promotes community participation in disaster preparedness and terrorism prevention.
When a neighbor hears a noise or sees something, they can immediately let the rest of the community know in a few seconds by calling their community’s vanity number. DialMyCalls helps you choose a hard-to-forget phone number that your community will be able to recall in a moment and use to report anything suspicious, such as someone looking into parked cars or loitering near homes and businesses.
The community can also use the service to find missing pets, registered offenders, real estate for sale or building permits. The free service provides a lot of information but, if you want to have the full picture, it’s worth upgrading to Citizen Premium. It gives access to live police scanner audio clips and lets you set multiple alert zones. There are also more detailed incident reports and the ability to monitor comments.