The Dynamics of Web-Based Community Safety Groups: Lessons Learned from the Nation of Neighbors [Social Sciences]

Online social networks targeted toward national priorities such as disaster planning, crime watch, or food safety are increasingly described in research studies. A central research challenge is to understand the determinants of the successful growth of such communities. The use of a visual analytics tool would guide the community managers to understand their dynamics. To study this, we used data from the Nation of Neighbors (NON) [11], which is a platform for online neighborhood crime watch communities of residents and law enforcement officers to interact over the shared goals of preventing crime and strengthening communities. The members and law enforcement jurisdiction can add their community to NON; report crime or other incidents in their communities; participate in community discussion; share news, photos, or documents; and manage upcoming events. The system sends real-time e-mail or text message alerts to the community members.