Community Safety

Should your neighborhood choose Flock Safety?

September 21, 2022

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Community Safety

Should your neighborhood choose Flock Safety?

Safety is a key component of why your neighborhood or community is a great place to live. Everyone deserves to feel safe in their homes, among their neighbors. 

Community associations and HOAs don’t make decisions about neighborhood security lightly. These leaders must explore a range of security tools and weigh them according to price, effectiveness, infrastructure and maintenance costs, and satisfaction among residents.

Every neighborhood is unique. We’re here to help you decide if Flock Safety license plate reader cameras are right for yours. 

Is your community investing in security measures?

neighborhood security

From gates to guards to CCTV cameras, there are plenty of tools available to your community. If your neighborhood is considering a new security tool, or if residents are implementing individual security tools like doorbell cameras, Flock Safety can add a valuable layer to your security strategy.

For example, if your residents utilize doorbell cameras, you can request access to valuable timestamp information and footage of suspicious activity. Communities with gates offer residents a sense of confidence that their neighborhood is more protected from potential crime. Burglars look for houses that are easy to access, so a house in a gated community will help deter some criminal activity.

Flock Safety adds to these measures by filling in the gaps. While a gate offers certain advantages, it won’t provide objective data to generate leads for law enforcement. A Flock Safety camera at your gate will capture the license plates of cars coming and going. This adds actionable evidence to complement a sense of safety. 

The same can be said of doorbell cameras. Doorbell cameras may deter suspects from criminal activity, but they don’t record license plate numbers, which is often a critical piece of evidence law enforcement need for prosecuting crime. A doorbell camera combined with a Flock Safety camera delivers a one-two punch for providing effective neighborhood security that also generates objective, actionable evidence. 

Starting from scratch? No problem.

If your community isn’t currently investing in any security measures, Flock Safety makes it easy to get started.  Your community may be in the early stages of developing a strategy for neighborhood security, or it may be prohibited by cost. Keep in mind that security is an important consideration for potential residents, and a neighborhood that prioritizes security will be more attractive to homebuyers. Neighborhood security will also help maintain property values. 

Flock Safety will help you address your community’s need for security by offering a complete security system at an affordable price. Flock Safety’s system is a stand-alone security tool that collects license plate numbers as actionable pieces of evidence. Flock’s completely hands-off setup saves time and energy for volunteers. Flock Safety will install and maintain the cameras as part of the annual cost. The subtle design of Flock Safety cameras won’t compromise neighborhood aesthetics, which is another consideration when it comes to property values and resident satisfaction. 

Flock Safety cameras are also easy to build on incrementally. You can start with one camera and add more over time as your budget allows. This gives your community immediate access to security without the huge up-front cost and long-term commitment of a gate or the capital needed to hire third-party security. 

Some residents may want the safety of a neighborhood security system without sacrificing a sense of privacy. You don’t want to wonder if a camera is recording you if you let your dog out in the middle of the night. Flock Safety is committed to maintaining a principled and ethical approach to data collection that protects residents without infringing on privacy. Flock Safety cameras are motion-activated and capture license plates, not people. Data is only stored for thirty days, and you can set permissions on who can access the data. Residents have the option to be excluded from Flock Safety footage altogether. 

Is your neighborhood or community experiencing increased crime rates?

Areas facing rising crime may consider hiring third-party security like off-duty police officers to patrol neighborhoods. This can come with a hefty price tag. Some residents may feel uncomfortable seeing armed guards patrolling the neighborhood. Private security personnel can gather information to share with law enforcement, but this doesn’t offer the same level of objectivity and credibility as recorded evidence.

Flock Safety helps address increasing crime rates in your community without the cost of hiring additional security staff. The Flock Safety system can alert you to suspicious activity without requiring staff to monitor the community around the clock. Flock cameras deliver real-time information to law enforcement using objective, recorded data at any time of day or night. 

The Flock Safety system is also searchable and easy to use by approved users. You won’t be stuck sifting through hours of footage for a 10-second clip. This is another way the Flock Safety system enhances efficiency in protecting against crime without expending more human resources. 

Even if your neighborhood is not experiencing increasing crime, nationwide trends suggest that neighborhood security should be a priority in every community. Neighborhood crime is linked to significant mental and health risks for residents. Being proactive against crime is a testament to the community’s commitment to the health and well-being of its residents. With crime on the rise nationwide, communities that establish evidence-based strategies for responding to crime are taking an important step in keeping the entire neighborhood safer and healthier. 

Communities with cameras deter more crime than communities without them, from package theft to car theft. The presence of Flock Safety cameras offers the dual benefit of crime deterrence with actionable, objective evidence if a crime does occur. 

Does your neighborhood have a set number of entrances and exits?

neighborhood security

Flock Safety is ideal for neighborhoods with set entrances and exits because it is easier to capture the license plate of a vehicle suspected of a crime. Your community will need fewer cameras to achieve the same results. 

Flock Safety is also well suited for neighborhoods with multiple entrances and exits. Flock Safety will work with you to strategically place cameras at the most active entrances and exits. Some communities, like apartment complexes, have hard-to-secure areas like parking decks. Flock Safety cameras are wireless and solar powered, so you can put them wherever you need them without the costs of wifi and electricity. 

Flock Safety is an excellent option for providing neighborhood security, whether your community is just starting to implement security measures or already has them in place but wants to make improvements. Flock Safety’s affordability and flexibility give you quick and effective access to a safer community that benefits both current and future residents.

Does your neighborhood or community have some sort of neighborhood, homeowner’s, or condo association?

If so, your community already has a group dedicated to making joint decisions about neighborhood security. Flock Safety is a great option for these communities. A wide range of community associations and HOAs can access Flock Safety services at the most competitive rates on the market.  

Neighborhood associations and HOAs are often run by volunteers who perform their duties on top of their everyday jobs and obligations. The hands-off setup and maintenance provided by Flock Safety will save HOA volunteers valuable time while increasing community safety. The neighborhood association can opt to allow Flock Safety technology to quickly transfer information to the authorities for rapid response to potential crimes. This aids law enforcement in doing their jobs while keeping residents out of harm's way. 

Flock Safety may still be right for you even if your community does not have an association that oversees neighborhood security. An individual homeowner without an HOA can still enjoy all the same benefits of a Flock Safety setup. However, it is typically more cost-effective to purchase Flock Safety through a network or organization.

Are you on the board of your neighborhood association or HOA? 

neighborhood security

If so, we’d love to show you how Flock Safety can make your neighborhood more secure. Simply book a demo here. We work with neighborhood associations and HOAs across the country, so we speak the language and understand ins and outs of HOAs. 

If you aren’t on your association’s board, use this referral form to point our team to one of your board members, and we’ll make contact with them.  

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 up to 70%. Flock Safety serves 2000 cities in 42+ states and is helping solve hundreds of crimes every day. 

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