The 9PM Routine
Law enforcement agencies frequently use Neighbors Public Safety Service (NPSS) to share daily reminders and best safety practices with residents. One such practice, the “9PM Routine” is a social media campaign created in 2017 by a Sheriff’s Office in Florida.The campaign was created to educate community members about best safety practices, and help the Sheriff's department achieve its goal to reduce preventable crimes. The 9PM Routine typically includes tips such as: remove valuables from your car, lock your car, turn on outside lights, and lock up your home. Since its origination, the 9pm Routine has been adopted by law enforcement agencies all over the U.S and continues to provide value to communities by raising awareness and providing simple prevention tips.
Continue reading to learn more about how the North Miami PD successfully used NPSS to get their community involved in the 9PM routine.
North Miami Police Department’s Success with the 9PM Routine
Before creating the 9PM routine, the North Miami PD used NPSS to build community engagement through posting safety tips and commenting on community posts. Once the department had established a trusted presence on the app, it launched the 9PM Routine campaign. An introductory post educated residents about the 9PM routine, and set the expectation that residents would receive a daily safety reminder at 9PM. This post clearly communicated the campaign’s value: to educate and bring awareness to the community about simple steps to secure and keep valuables safe.
Following the introductory post, the department published a daily 9PM routine post for an entire month. Every day, the department dedicated time to prepare the daily post to have it ready to send at 9PM. Most posts included an image, along with a 9PM Routine message. Attaching an image to your post can make it more engaging for residents and these can range from memes to images with safety tips included.
The department also encouraged people to interact with the posts. In one case, community members were asked to post a certain emoji once they'd completed their 9PM routine: “Comment with a ✅ if you’ve done the #9PMroutine tonight.” While the department’s goal was to send the post everyday at 9PM, there were times that the post went up 15 minutes to one hour later. The community’s response to this tardiness included “you all are late! I’ve been waiting since 9pm for this reminder. 👀😂 Just playing. Great initiative. Great community engagement. Keep it up!” showing that they began to expect and look out for these posts on the Neighbors App.
Given the positive response from residents, this department decided to adopt the 9PM routine campaign into their regular posting schedule on NPSS. The department felt that the campaign not only filled the need to remind the community to lock their cars and protect their valuables, but it also allowed residents to have an open and anonymous method of communication with the department.
How to Start the 9PM Routine in your Community
If you would like to leverage the 9PM Campaign to support your community, here are some tips and best practices from other agencies to help you get started.
- Start with an introductory post: Introduce the 9PM routine to your community by explaining the benefits and goal of the campaign. Additionally, set expectations for when they will see 9PM Routine posts from your department in the coming days/weeks.
- Assign a dedicated poster: Assign one dedicated poster so there is no overlap on posts. You can also assign an officer to engage with and answer questions from residents in the post comment section.
- Create a schedule: You can either set up each post the day of by selecting the image and writing the post description or plan all your posts out in advance to make it easy to post the day of.
- Use engaging content: Graphics or messages that include a call to action, riddle, or question can make the post more engaging for your residents. This can open up an opportunity for residents to engage in two-way communication.
- Engage with Residents. If residents leave comments on the post, it’s a good opportunity to engage with your community and respond back to each comment or question left-whether good or bad.
Sample 9PM Routine Posts for Your Department to Use
Below are some highly engaging and creative shareable graphics and sample messages for you to adopt into your 9PM routine. The campaign below is taken from other agencies and follows a 14 day schedule beginning on a Monday. Remember that your department can customize each post to what works best for your residents.
Day 1
Sample Message:
“The [Department Name] is launching our #9PM routine. The #9PM routine is a nightly reminder to residents to remove valuables from their vehicles, lock their vehicle doors, lock the doors to their residences, turn on exterior lights and activate all alarms and security systems.
Every night we will send out a nightly reminder at 9pm to lock up. We ask residents to set a nightly reminder on their smartphones or other devices that will remind them to follow the #9PM routine.
Criminals look for easy targets. You can make it more difficult for them by following the #9PMRoutine! Many vehicle burglaries, and to a lesser degree, stolen vehicles, occur as a result of vehicles being left unlocked. Criminals walk through neighborhoods, trying vehicle door handles, hoping to find an unlocked vehicle. The best way to prevent vehicle burglaries is to remove all of your valuables, lock your vehicle’s doors upon exiting and take the keys to the vehicle inside your residence.”
Day 2
Sample Message:
“Good Evening [City Name] Residents! It’s that time to lock or lose it! Comment with a ✅ if you’ve done the #9PM routine tonight. If you haven’t done the #9PM routine, let’s get to it! Remove valuables from your car and lock it! We will wait for your ✅ 😉”
Day 3
Sample Message:
“The most reported stolen items in vehicle burglaries are: key fobs, spare keys, money, wallets, firearms, laptops, and tools. Don’t let someone take what you have worked hard for! Secure your belongings!
LOCK IT OR LOSE IT - Make sure to follow the #9PM ROUTINE”
Day 4
Sample Message:
“It's that time. #9PM routine! Remove valuables from your car.... keys, money, credit cards, firearms, iPads, tablets, etc. Lock your car. Double check it! Turn on your exterior lights. Activate alarms and security systems.
And remember... if you see something, say something!
Have a great night!”
Day 5
Sample Message:
“Crime prevention doesn’t have to be complicated. Take a minute and do the #9PM routine. Together, we can continue to prevent vehicle and residential burglaries. Have a great night!”
Day 6
Sample Message:
“We recommend home and business owners, take a minute and go through the below checklist if you have a video surveillance system. You might be surprised what you find. Surveillance systems provide an extra set of eyes and security but only when the cameras are working, the review/backup function is accessible and the camera view isn't obstructed. Make sure your system is ready to provide you that back up support, if you ever need it!
- Do you know your username and password?
- Is the date and time correct?
- Are all the cameras working?
- Are the camera lenses clear of dust, debris and cobwebs?
- Are the camera views unobstructed by trees, shrubbery, and structural overhangs?
- Are the cameras in recording mode or live view only?
#9PM ROUTINE 🕘🔒 “
Day 7
Sample Message:
“Hope everyone had a great Sunday Funday. Roll on over into an awesome Monday, after completing the #9PM routine!
-Remove your valuables 📱⌚️💻💰🔑
-LOCK YOUR CAR
-Turn on exterior lights
-Activate security alarms and surveillance systems
Let us know if you ended your week with the 9PM Routine below!"
Day 8
Sample Message:
“🚨 #9PMROUTINE 🚨
🚔 LOCKITORLOSEIT 🚔”
Day 9
Sample Message:
"Since we’ve been doing the #9PM routine nightly, who has realized how easy it is to leave valuable items in your car, forget to lock your car, activate your house alarm, or turn on your exterior lights? Hopefully the #9PM routine is becoming a habit and helping you secure your valuables!”
Day 10
Sample Message:
“Don’t be late for the essential #9PM routine.
-Remove valuables from your car.
-Remove your firearms. #LockItUp
- Remember... see something, say something!
Share these valuable tips with your family, friends and neighbors!
[Department name and phone number]”
Day 11
Sample Message:
“Good evening. Please follow the above steps and join us in our #9PM Routine"!”
Day 12
Sample Message:
“Happy Friday [Insert City] !!! Don’t forget to secure your valuables and lock up tonight. We hope everyone has a great weekend. Be safe and stay healthy! #9PMROUTINE”
Day 13
Sample Message:
“Good Evening Residents!! #9PM Routine check in time!
Has the 9pm routine become routine for you?
Have you noticed the amount of valuables you leave in you car on a regular basis?
Have you often found your car unlocked when the reminders are sent?
Have you shared the #9PM Routine with your family, friends, and neighbors?
🗣 LET US KNOW! 🗣”
Day 14
Sample message:
“We made it to two full weeks of posting the #9PM Routine! We are very appreciative of the positive response and engagement from our Ring community. Our goal, was to help everyone establish a nightly routine to remove valuables from their cars, lock their cars, turn on exterior lights and use any additional home security systems to secure their residences and property. If you have not done so yet, we encourage everyone to set a nightly reminder or alarm at 9pm every night to remind you to complete the routine.
We will continue to interact and engage with the Ring community by requesting video and photos, requesting public assistance when needed and advising of major incidents that may arise.”
Want to continue posting the 9PM routine? Here are additional graphics and sample messages you can use.
Graphic Ideas:
Sample Message 1:
“Good evening. Promise us before you kick back and relax for the evening, that you remove all valuables from your car and lock it. We promise to take care of the rest!”
Sample Message 2:
“#9PM ROUTINE
🔑 REMOVE key fobs and spare keys from vehicle
🛍 REMOVE ALL valuables from vehicle
🔒 LOCK your vehicle
🔒 LOCK your residential doors
💡 TURN ON your exterior lights “
Sample Message 3:
“You can help prevent crime by following the #9PM Routine including these three tips.
LOCK YOU CAR!
TAKE YOUR KEYS!
LOCK YOUR DOORS! “
Sample Message 4:
“Don’t be late for the very important #9PMRoutine. Remove valuables from your car. Remove your firearms. #LockItUp
Share with family, friends and neighbors.
Remember... see something, say something!”