Crow Wing County Sheriff Scott Goddard on Thursday, Dec. 19, announced his office is utilizing Neighbors, an app designed to help citizens throughout the country stay informed about crime and safety concerns in their area.
The Neighbors app, from Ring, is free for anyone to download on their mobile devices and affords those participating the opportunity to become aware when certain crime occurs, suspicious activity exists or if there are safety alerts in neighborhoods, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. Those who use the app can also anonymously share real-time information with other users in their area as well as the sheriff’s office. No matter what security camera system someone uses, they can share video footage with the sheriff’s office, which will assist investigators in identifying vehicles, people and suspicious activity.
“The benefits of this interactive app will help keep our communities safer by providing pertinent information to our citizens in a very efficient and effective manner,” Goddard said in the release. “By participating in this program, I’m confident our county will be better connected and those who seek to commit a crime will be deterred knowing that their illegal activity will likely be caught on the camera systems many of our households now utilize. I also encourage our citizens to register the existence of their camera system with my office through our Community Camera Watch program. Information on these programs is available through the Crow Wing County website.”
