Manhattan Beach Police Department Uses Ring's Neighbors App

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — Residents who'd like to be able to provide video feeds to the Manhattan Beach Police Department may opt to do so via video doorbell maker Ring's Neighbors Public Safety Service program that puts public safety agencies in communication with residents via Ring's Neighbors app, which is separate from the regular Ring smartphone app. You also don't have own a Ring to use the Neighbors app.

The Manhattan Beach Police Department has been using the Neighbors program for about a year, according to MBPD Sergeant Tim Zins, who encourages residents to use it but notes has a few limitations. "When people post a video, I get an immediate alert and I can forward video to responding officers of who they are looking for. The problem is that most residents don’t post immediately. Some of the crimes occur in the middle of the night so people don’t see their Ring alert until the next morning. But we still encourage them to post on the Neighbors app so we can see what these suspects look like even though the crime occurred hours before. We have advertised this several times on our Neighborhood Watch eblasts and I think a couple times on our social media platforms."

Ring's public agency network has increased to more than 2,000 police and fire departments throughout the United States. In 2018, 40 such public agencies had signed up to use the program.

The Neighbors Public Safety Service program allows police and fire department officials to request Ring video feeds from residents within their jurisdiction. This program also lets departments broadcast public safety advisories through Ring's Neighbors smartphone app.