Neighborhoods all over the country are taking proactive steps to keep their residents safe from crime. You can contribute to the well-being of your family and neighbors by implementing a few practical tips and exploring the benefits of top-of-the-line security technology, including Flock Safety's LPR community camera, to bolster neighborhood security. 

Property crime up in the US

Property crime is the most common type of crime committed in the US—and it’s on the rise. Reports increased from the first quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022 in 62 of the 100 largest cities. Cases nationwide exceed 7 million per year, yet law enforcement solves less than 20% because they rarely have sufficient evidence to build a case.

Among property crimes, larceny-theft is the most prevalent. In 2020, law enforcement reported over 4.6 million cases, most of which involved items stolen from motor vehicles. During that year, 41% of reported property crimes occurred at homes or residences. 

Neighborhood security tips and tech

A neighborhood's safety heavily depends on its residents. There are many ways to safeguard your home, property, and neighbors. Some safety measures require individual commitment, many require neighborly cooperation, and others require HOA programs to research technology and lead the community safety conversation. 

Safety strategies for homeowners & neighbors

Know your neighbors & neighborhood

Take frequent walks around your neighborhood with your family and get to know your neighbors. There are many benefits of becoming more acquainted with your surrounding community. Consider if your kids or animals get lost—they are more likely to run into a familiar face or return home by a well-known route. Plus, knowing your neighbors makes you more aware of any unusual activity in your neighborhood.

Consider your schedule

Setting up timers for interior lights, installing motion sensor flood lights outside, and using dusk-to-dawn lightbulbs on your porch are all great ways to keep property thieves at bay. Smart-home timers for interior lights give the impression that someone is home, even if you are not. A well-lit home is a less likely target for property crime.

Be discreet

Close your garage door, blinds, and curtains in the evening to reduce visibility and access to your home. You should also store expensive outdoor items, such as your grill or tools, away from sight.

Mind your trash—don't advertise big-ticket purchases by leaving packaging for pricey tech and other items on the curb for garbage pickup. It signals that there are valuable items inside your home. 

Get involved

Sign up for or organize a neighborhood watch with the help of your neighbors and local law enforcement. Another valuable way for residents to interact and play a role in neighborhood security is by actively participating in your HOA if you have one.

Technology-driven neighborhood safety

Home security options

Video-equipped doorbells, indoor and outdoor cameras, automatic door locks, and security systems are all great options to monitor activity around your house. Footage and other data from these options can help authorities investigate an incident in or around your home. 

Gated & monitored access

Many neighborhoods benefit from automatic gates that only open with key cards or pre-approved residential access. A post guard at the front gate or CCTV cameras can help law enforcement review footage or notes if necessary.

License plate readers & community cameras

The license plate reader (LPR) camera captures the license plates of every vehicle within sight of the camera, generating an actionable record of vehicles that enter and exit an area. Accessing local cameras and reviewing relevant video footage can help law enforcement gather valuable evidence in criminal investigations. 

Why invest in LPR community cameras?

In the United States, 70% of crimes committed involve motor vehicles, and 80% of unsolved property crimes could be resolved—if only law enforcement had access to a relevant license plate number. LPR community cameras provide police with pertinent evidence to apprehend a suspect quickly.

Choosing the right LPR for your HOA

While traditional heavy-duty LPR cameras are fantastic for major roadways, their hefty construction and installation costs—plus the expense of ongoing maintenance and replacing obsolete tech—mean they’re not always the best choice for neighborhoods.

HOAs are turning to more economical options like Flock Safety’s Sparrow Automatic LPR camera to take neighborhood safety to the next level. 

What is Flock Safety’s Sparrow?

The Flock Safety Sparrow® LPR camera works around the clock to track the license plates of all vehicles entering and exiting your neighborhood. This efficient community camera gives law enforcement access to pertinent data to gather valid and reliable evidence in the event of an incident.

Like a traditional LPR, the Sparrow records license plate numbers to share as part of law enforcement's community camera network.

However, unlike its competitors, the Sparrow uses cutting-edge technology to bring an affordable, infrastructure-free, solar-powered, LTE cloud-connected LPR to neighborhoods across the country.

Beneficial features of the Flock Safety Sparrow® LPR

Solar-powered security 

The sleek, low-profile Flock Safety Sparrow® LPR is completely infrastructure-free. This community camera runs entirely on solar power, meaning you can install the Sparrow anywhere in your neighborhood—no messy wiring, no extra utility bills. 

Partnership with law enforcement

Your Sparrow LPR can instantly share evidence with local law enforcement if a crime occurs in your neighborhood, giving your local police the tools they need to respond quickly.

Flock Safety's national footage-sharing network lets you collaborate with over 1,000 law enforcement agencies, which helps agencies across the nation work together and solve crimes faster.

Vehicle Fingerprint™ technology

The FlockOS platform allows you to capture actionable evidence and search for vehicles based on their model, color, type, license plate number, issuing state, and unique details like roof racks and bumper stickers, regardless of whether the license plates are missing, covered, or otherwise modified. Using Flock Sparrow, you can easily track how often a known offender enters your neighborhood.

Customize safe lists

The Sparrow offers a SafeList feature, allowing residents to register their license plates and opt to have the Sparrow eliminate them from all captured data.

Responsible data storage & access

You own all the information captured by Flock Safety's Sparrow® LPR. Depending on your preferences, you can allow only certain community members access to the data. Flock's Sparrow maintains footage for 30 days to avoid a backlog and ensure it is easily accessible should a crime occur. You must expressly authorize law enforcement to access the AWS-stored footage. Flock Safety will never sell your data. 

Inclusive security subscription

With your Flock Safety Sparrow® LPR full-service subscription, you'll enjoy Flock Safety’s expert set-up, installation, maintenance, and ongoing customer care. Your security subscription also includes:

• Software training
• Footage hosting
• Cellular service
• Hardware & software updates
• Data storage
• Analytics

What safety measures will you take? 

Situational awareness and safety strategies can help, but the proven, proactive steps are making the biggest difference for HOAs nationwide. With Flock Safety’s Sparrow LPR, an investment in neighborhood security on a community level can help solve, deter, and prevent crime everywhere.

The Flock Safety Sparrow® LPR community camera from Flock Safety provides more than just evidence to law enforcement. It increases neighborhood security and provides overall peace of mind.

Flock Safety is a public safety operating system that helps communities and law enforcement in 2000+ cities work together to eliminate crime, protect privacy, and mitigate bias. We build devices that capture objective evidence and use machine learning to create and deliver unbiased investigative leads to law enforcement. Our proprietary devices and cloud-based software reduce crime by +70%. Flock Safety serves 2000 cities in 42+ states and is helping solve hundreds of crimes every day.