Atlantic Beach police deploy app for citizens

Beach residents can now communicate directly with police without calling or texting 911.
The SaferWatch App allows smartphone users to report suspicious activity or a community issue to police directly in real-time. Users can also submit a photo to provide real-time information to police.
The Web- and mobile-based security system was designed to enhance security at schools, corporations, public venues and neighborhoods. The app also allows users to receive safety alerts, community announcements and other information from the city of Atlantic Beach.
“For me, there’s a couple of reasons I wanted to move forward with it," said Police Chief Michelle Cook. "Most people do not put the police non-emergency number in their phone. So, they’ll see something and think this isn’t really an emergency so I’m not going to 'bother' the police. But that’s the information we need.
“I think with technology in general, I think the Smartphone App route is the wave of the future. Nothing will ever take the place of a traditional 911 call, but when you can snap a photo of something in progress and send us an immediate alert and a picture of the person or whatever you’re seeing immediately, what a valuable tool that is for us. Instead of trying to explain what do they look like, what were they wearing, send us a picture and send it to us so we can get real-time intel that’s timely and accurate.”
When a user reports an incident, SaferWatch transmits the user's physical location and profile directly to the 911 dispatch center. The operators review the content and assign the situation to the appropriate location for follow-up. According to Cook, the communication center receives an average of six tips a week.
“Like any call that comes in, the dispatcher looks at it and takes the totality of the information given and determines how to process it,” said Cook, citing a recent call that someone had kicked over the bike rack at the 18th Street endzone.
Dispatchers received two photo tips in the same day and forwarded the information to Public Works to address the situation.
“Our dispatchers have the ability to forward the information to any of the city departments.”
Cook said the concept behind the app is see something, send something. Specific categories include crime involving a person, property, traffic, quality of life issue, suspicious vehicle or other for general tips or concerns.
“If you see someone lurking around the neighborhood or you suspect someone may be peeking into cars in a parking lot, you can snap a picture of them and send it right to us and we know exactly who we are looking for,” she said, noting the department has responded to reports of aggressive panhandlers, drug activity and a suspicious person on private property.
A photo of a man traveling back and forth with different bikes in his possession led to an ongoing criminal investigation.
“We have some criminal investigations in progress because of the information we received,” Cook said. “When you take a picture, then you’re not trying to explain it. He’s a white guy on a bike with a tank top on. If I have a picture, I know exactly who I’m looking for. If he says, ‘That wasn’t me. I didn’t have a bike in my possession,’ I can say, ‘Yes, you did. I’m looking at it right here.’”
The app also allows users to provide information anonymously.
“Out here, being a small community, the other thing that it is super valuable for is communicating with our citizens. I can identify a certain neighborhood in the city and send them a direct message,” she said, noting that residents in Seminole Beach were notified of a recent water outage using the app.
“I literally sent the residents of Seminole Beach that had signed up a message that said water would be out for a few hours. On a real emergency, the person’s phone will make a sound like if there is a missing child we are looking for. But for general notifications, you see you have a message and you can click on it so it’s not intrusive.”
The SaferWatch app became available to Atlantic Beach users in June. City officials approved the program in May. The contract, which went into effect July 1, will cost $33,750 over the next six years which Cook said breaks down to approximately 50 cents per resident. The first 18 months of service are free. The free app can be downloaded by searching SaferWatch on Google Play or the Apple App Store. Residents in Atlantic Beach are encouraged to visit www.coabalert.com for more information.