Gazette - E-13 Neighbors Network gets residents talking

BEST PRACTICE

by Joseph Porcelli Neighbors Network Boston Police Department

If there were a technology to connect residents by geographic region, educate them about crime prevention, and give them the ability to communicate and collaborate, you’d want to know about it, right?

In April 2008, the Boston Police Department (BPD) launched a pilot social network called the E-13 Neighbors Network (http://e13.bostoncrimewatch. com). The online network allows residents of the BPD’s E-13/Jamaica Plain neighbourhood district to find out who their neighbours are, get information about criminal activity on a street- or neighbourhood - level, and — most importantly — build community–police relationships in the spirit of community policing.

The BPD developed the Neighbors Network after experiencing an increase in participation in its Neighborhood Crime Watch program. The jump in participation occurred after the BPD implemented a coalition organization model, which empowers and trains residents to build grassroots, street-by-street neighbourhood watch groups. Within a year, the initiative had produced over 50 such groups, covering 75 per cent of the streets in the neighbourhood of Charlestown. In 2006, the watch groups significantly contributed to a 16 per cent net reduction in violent and property crime. While the initiative had positive effects, the BPD felt that an online tool was needed to support the effort and sustain the momentum.

The Neighbourhood Watch groups initially used Yahoo and Google groups to communicate. While these technologies served the purpose, it was difficult for residents to locate their neighbourhood groups and get involved. In addition, the volunteer-run street groups tended to operate in silos and were not always aware of or communicating with each other.

In late 2007, the BPD became aware of the Ning social networking platform. A robust platform that requires no knowledge of code, Ning now forms the technological foundation of the E-13 Neighbors Network. The platform includes such features as blogs, forums, video and photo sharing, customizable pages, and the ability to personalize profiles, add friends and — most importantly — create groups that serve as street- and zone-communication and collaboration spaces.

The way the E-13 Neighbors Network works is simple. After creating a profile, a citizen is able to join a group on the street in which he or she lives, as well as the group representing his or her larger neighbourhood zone. Inside the groups, residents can participate in discussions about local happenings or post information on crime or community efforts. The BPD and authorized citizen moderators have the ability to approve or decline membership requests and delete inappropriate discussions.

The network also allows the BPD to post messages for specific street groups, neighbourhood zone groups, or the entire network, allowing for targeted communication. Additionally, BPD moderators can embed RSS feeds from other BPD online tools like CitizenObserver and the BPD news blog, providing users with a one-stop shop for all their BPD-related information. The Neighbors Network affords citizens the opportunity to explore and join on their own time, and it requires limited management and support from the BPD.

Since the network’s launch, it has grown to include 467 members (the E-13 neighbourhood population is 31,587). Boston City Hall has noted the success and is developing a plan to roll out Neighbors Networks in each of Boston’s 11 neighbourhood districts. The mayor’s office and other city departments will also utilize the networks to conduct outreach and offer their services to members.

Joseph Porcelli is the former civilian program co-ordinator and director of the Neighbors Network at the Boston Police Department. He now serves as the director of online operations and partnerships for Be the Change Inc., a non-profit group advocating active citizenship and citizens’ involvement in public policy discussions.