Through Neighbors Public Safety Service, we've created a way for Ring users to easily and privately share video recordings and information with local public safety agencies if something happens in their neighborhood. Here are a few ways that Neighbors Public Safety Service allows you to ask residents in your jurisdiction to provide information:
- Create a public post* to ask residents for any information that could help with an active investigation — whether they own a Ring device or not. Creating a post is an effective way to ask the community for information since they are sent in real-time to residents’ smartphones.
- Use the video request feature* to ask Ring to request video recordings notifications from Ring device owners who are in the area of an active investigation. This feature allows Ring device owners to share video recordings with local public safety agencies if they choose to help with active investigations while protecting the user’s privacy.
*Note this feature is available only to those who have been given access by an Admin
How to Create a Post
1. Click the Create button
2. Select the relevant post category
3. Enter a location, title, and description for the post in 1,000 characters or less
4. Attach an image or video in JPEG, PNG, or MP4 format (optional)
5. Click Preview
6. Click Post to publish on the Neighbors feed
Once your post is created, residents within the specific area of your post (not your entire jurisdiction) will be able to join the conversation by commenting on the post. They can also contact you directly if you provide your contact information. To keep you updated on the conversation, you will receive email notifications for all comments left on your post.
How to Ask Ring to Send Video Request Notifications to Ring Users
1. Click Create
2. Click Video Request
3. Enter an incident location then click Next
4. Adjust the boundary for the request area by dragging the corners of the polygon then click Next
5. Enter the case or incident number and the time range**
6. Enter an external message to Ring users including, but not limited to case details and/or contact info. Then click Next
7. Confirm your contact details then click Preview
8. Verify the email preview then click Continue
9. Click Accept & Send to finish submission
**Videos can be requested for a maximum time period of 12 hours and up to 45 days in the past
If a Ring user chooses to share their video recordings, you will receive an email notification letting you know, and a copy of the video recording(s) will be added to your My Cases tab. You’ll be able to view and download the video recordings for 30 days.
Best Practices
- Create a post on the Neighbors Feed. Video requests are only sent to Ring users whose devices have captured video recordings during requested time frames. They must also be subscribed to a storage plan which saves their videos to their account. By creating a post you may reach a larger number of residents — whether they own a Ring device or not — within the same location as your video request. This will give more residents the opportunity to share information that could help you solve an investigation.
- Add a detailed external message to your video request. A detailed message can provide Ring device owners with the context they need to decide whether to share their video recordings or not.
Managing Video Recordings Ring Users Share in Response to a Video Request
Under the My Cases tab, you can select a case to view the corresponding video recordings shared by Ring device owners along with their contact information which they have voluntarily shared. Here are some details about the My Cases tab:
- Each video will show a timestamp on the bottom right corner reflecting the time the video was taken in local time.
- Each video will show the Ring user’s email address and the street address associated with their device.
- Videos are available in My Cases for 30 days. Videos set to expire within 7 days will be indicated with a banner (shown below).
- You can mark videos as Important or Not Important to easily view them later under the respective tab.
- You can download videos to your computer in mp4 format by clicking Download.
