What is a Request for Assistance post?
‘Request for Assistance’ is a post category within Neighbors that enables public safety agencies to ask the public for help with an active investigation. There are a couple important differences between Request for Assistance posts and other posts categories on Neighbors. First, only public safety agency users can create a Request for Assistance posts. Second, Request for Assistance posts contain the contact information for the public safety user conducting the investigation, as well as a link that allows Ring customers to securely and privately share their Ring videos with the public safety agency.
Who can create Request for Assistance posts?
Only public safety agencies on Ring Neighbors can create Request for Assistance posts. Only specific public safety agency users are provided permissions to create Request for Assistance posts. Please contact your agency’s IT administrator for further information for access permissions.
What is the range of time that I can use for a Request for Assistance post?
The minimum/maximum time range of a request is 15 minutes to 12 hours.
What can I receive in response to my Request for Assistance post?
Neighbors may reach out to you directly from the contact information you provide, add a comment onto your post, or share Ring videos in response to a Request for Assistance post. Only Ring customers within the specified area may share their Ring videos in response to a Request for Assistance post. Note, each individual user Ring video typically does not exceed one minute in length.
What's the minimum and maximum area that can be selected within a Request for Assistance post?
The area for a Request for Assistance post can be set between .025 and 0.5 square miles.
When submitting a Request for Assistance post, do I need to enter an address for the incident location?
Yes, an incident address is required. An incident address is used to identify and define the specific location for a Request for Assistance post area, but the incident address is not exposed within the post. Alternatively, you can use the street intersection close to the incident location (Ex. 26th St & Santa Monica Blvd).
How many Request for Assistance posts can I create for an investigation?
You may publish up to two (2) Request for Assistance posts per incident/case.
How far back in time can I request within a Request for Assistance post?
You can request videos up to 45 days in the past.
When submitting a Request for Assistance post, how quickly will the post appear for users?
All Request for Assistance posts are moderated before publishing to Neighbors. This review process can take several hours. We will notify you via email once your Request for Assistance post is approved to meet our guidelines and published to Neighbors.
When submitting a Request for Assistance post, who will be notified of the post?
Once a Request for Assistance post is approved, users within the specified area may receive a push notification, depending on their notification settings. Users in the specified area may also view the post within their respective Neighbors Feed.
If a Ring user shares video recordings in response to a Request for Assistance post, will their contact information be made available?
Yes, the Ring user’s street address and email address will be made available along with the videos shared. Ring users must explicitly consent before this information is provided with the videos shared.
Once a video recording is shared by a Ring user in response to a Request for Assistance post, how long is it accessible for?
Video recordings shared in response to a Request for Assistance post are accessible in Neighbors Public Safety Service for 30 days. After 30 days, the video recordings are removed from our systems and are no longer retrievable.
Can I publish a Request for Assistance post targeting users outside of my jurisdictional boundaries?
No, a specified location of Request for Assistance posts may only be within your agency’s jurisdiction.
Are shared Ring videos time stamped?
Yes, all video recordings include a timestamp of when the Ring video was recorded in local time.
Can I see the number of cameras that are in my jurisdiction?
No, we do not provide camera information to protect user privacy.
Can I edit or cancel a Request for Assistance post after it has been submitted?
No, a Request for Assistance post cannot be edited or cancelled after submission.
What file type are downloaded videos saved as?
Downloaded videos are saved as MP4 files.