Cllr Stephen Cowan and Cllr Sue Fennimore with local police officers.
The police are tackling crime with the help of a new online social network and local residents.
Thanks to pioneering app Nextdoor, all 16 Safer Neighbourhoods Teams (SNT) across Hammersmith & Fulham are using the online network to keep residents informed about local crime prevention and arrests, invite them to street surgeries and to ask for their views on local policing priorities.
“Nextdoor has really helped build community spirit by keeping local residents in touch with their neighbours,” said Cllr Sue Fennimore, Deputy Leader of H&F Council. “Now it’s great to see local officers join to help keep residents safe and informed.”
More than 6,000 residents in H&F are now using Nextdoor. As well as keeping in touch with the local police, if you want to find a trusted babysitter or plumber, join a running club, or find out about local volunteering opportunities, your neighbours on Nextdoor can help.
Met Police community support officer Ben Lambert from the Shepherds Bush Green SNT has been using Nextdoor regularly. He said: “Nextdoor is a great way for me to be able to keep in touch with local residents and I have used Nextdoor to keep them informed about arrests in their neighbourhood, and to post crime prevention tips. I have even posted the map of my local cycle patrol so residents can see that I am on the beat.”
While H&F Met Police Sgt Sonja Morris said: “Our teams are a vital link with residents and we believe that Nextdoor can help to keep our communities safer and better informed.”
The police are encouraging residents to sign up to Nextdoor and get involved in the conversation.
“Look out for your local team’s posts on Nextdoor. And tell us what you think and how you’d like to see us working better together,” Sgt Morris added. “But remember, if you want to report a crime, call 101, or 999 in an emergency.”
Talk to the council online
Hammersmith & Fulham Council is also using the pioneering network to keep locals up-to-date with issues that affect them – but also to listen to residents in finding ways to keep you better informed about what we’re doing and improve our services. While H&F Council can post on Nextdoor, it cannot see any of the exchanges between members on the site.
Nextdoor is currently used by more than 50 per cent of neighbourhoods in the UK. In the Shepherds Bush neighbourhood of Wendell Park, more than 775 members – or 19 per cent of all residents – have now signed up to the free, private network.
Join the growing Nextdoor community in H&F.
