Neighbors Public Safety Service is a place for residents and local agencies to have a conversation about what’s going on in their neighborhood. Through the Neighbors Feed, you can view crime and safety information that your residents are sharing with others in the community. These conversations become more meaningful and actionable when local agencies participate in those discussions.
Commenting on resident posts and creating a post are two simple but impactful ways you can start interacting with your community.
Commenting on Resident Posts
As you scroll through the Neighbors Feed, you may come across a resident’s post that you want to respond to. Commenting on resident posts builds trust within the community and shows residents that their local agency is proactive and engaged.
Here are some helpful ways you can comment on a resident’s post:
- Providing your department’s contact information and asking residents to file a police report when needed
- Thanking a resident for sharing information
- Requesting assistance related to an investigation
- Offering tips and advice related to safety and crime prevention
- Sharing updates and resolutions to closed or ongoing investigations
For real examples of how local agency users typically comment on resident’s posts, see this article here.
To leave a comment on a resident’s post as a law enforcement user, follow the instructions below:
Step 1: Click Comment at the bottom of the desired post
Step 2: Type your reply in the text field and click Post to publish the comment
Alternatively, you can respond to another resident’s comment within a post. To reply to a comment, follow the instructions below:
Step 1: Click Reply underneath the desired comment you want to respond to
Step 2: Type your reply in the text field and click Post to publish the comment
As shown in the screenshot below, your title and last name will be displayed with your comment. To keep you in the know, you will receive an email notification each time there is activity on a post you’ve commented on.
Now that you know how to leave a comment, head over to the Neighbors feed to start interacting with residents.
Creating a Post
Residents want to hear about local crime and safety information from an official source. Creating a public post is an effective way for local agencies to deliver important information to the community, while also allowing residents to participate in the process.
Here are examples of common types of posts that local agency users create:
- Ask for assistance to help with active investigations *Only public safety agencies are able to make Request for Assistance posts.*
- Locating a missing person
- Identifying an individual
- Provide general safety information and Public Safety Announcements (PSAs) to raise awareness
- Fire safety tips
- Weather preparedness
- Crime trends
- Advertise local community events to increase attendance
- “Coffee with a Cop”
- Community meeting
- Open House
- Share updates and resolutions on cases and incidents to build trust within the community
- Missing person found
- Announcing suspect in custody
- Road closure is now reopened
For real examples of how public safety users post to the Neighbors Feed, see this article here.
How to Create a Post:
Step 1: Sign in to publicsafety.ring.com and click the Create button
Step 2: Select from one of the four post categories: Safety, Crime, Environmental, Community, or Animals
Step 3: Select your audience and notification preferences using the options below:
When to use ‘Create Regional Post’
Regional posts allow you to create a post with information relevant to specific neighborhoods, assigned areas, or your entire jurisdiction. This option is used for communicating general safety information, community updates, and/or PSA’s. Using this option will trigger a push notification to residents in the selected area(s).
When to use ‘Post to a specific location’
When you post to a specific location your post will only be seen by Neighbors users whose neighborhood area covers the incident location. This option is used for posting important communications related to an incident and will trigger a push notification to nearby residents who have the feature enabled.
Step 4: Enter post details such as title and description. This is also where you can attach up to 5 images or video to your post.
Step 5: Click Continue and then choose to schedule your post for later date, disable commenting, or disable push notifications
Step 6: Click Preview, then click Post to publish on Neighbors
What Happens After I Create a Post?
Residents may comment on it by providing further information, asking for more details, or simply acknowledging your post. They can also contact you directly if you provide your contact information in the post. To keep you updated, you will receive an email notification each time there is activity on a post you’ve created.
Now that you know how to create a post, head over to the Neighbors Feed to start interacting with residents.