HOW DOES IT WORK
Neighborhood watch is a prevention tool that is based on the active participation of citizens through informal control of the area of residence and cooperation with the police forces. All in order to reduce the occurrence of crimes and contribute to making areas safer and more protected without replacing the relevant authorities. It is therefore an integrated urban security measure both to prevent crimes and to increase the overall sense of security and strengthen civic sense. The objective of this form of neighborhood control is to enhance and stimulate the idea of building local security, respecting the different roles of institutions and communities. Citizens who join groups are nothing other than citizens who care about the safety of the place where they live and who spontaneously network with each other to keep an eye on their neighborhood, their street, exchanging information on what their sensitivity allows them to notice as anomalous.
THE ROLE OF THE PM
The local institution is also included in this architecture through the local police, for three different purposes: to respond to the concerns that attentive and sensitive citizens have about the security of the territory and to prevent insecurity from feeding itself, to collect information qualified and first-level experts on anomalous phenomena affecting the territory and collaborate in building trust between citizens and institutions and between community members themselves, trust which is the basis of the social bond and of the very idea of prevention and safety. The role of the local police is primarily that of liaison, point of contact and reference and it is necessary that this activity is organized and managed through careful planning, training of operators and continuity of intervention. The purpose of neighborhood control does not replace the police force which has the exclusive task of carrying out the repression and search for perpetrators of crimes.
HOW TO GET IN
Citizens interested in participating in the neighborhood control system must present their availability by signing the membership form. For each neighborhood group, which in the Faenza area alone is close to thirty units, there is a coordinator who is part of the group itself, and who manages contacts with the members of his own group and with the local police forces and who then decides , among the reports received from members of your group, which ones to send to the local police command. The exchange of information takes place through a “Fa Tam Tam” application, closed and protected which facilitates communication and interaction between the control groups and the local police forces, connecting the participants, the group representatives and the command. All the reports sent by the group participants are viewed by the respective group representatives, to then evaluate the subsequent forwarding of the significant ones to the Command. Through the app, the group representatives can communicate with their own group and with the Local Police command, the Local Police Command can communicate with the individual groups and/or with the individual group representatives. Inside the Command. The application can only be used by participants in the neighborhood watch. Obviously the application does not replace emergency numbers.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
To participate, you must complete the membership form and deliver it, attaching a photocopy of your valid identity document, via certified email to [email protected] or delivered by hand to the representatives of the neighborhood groups. You can request further information by writing an email to: [email protected].
The «Fa Tam Tam» app has a lot of room for improvement, now it doesn’t work
The new “Fa tam tam” application, which has replaced the traditional messaging via SMS in force until a few months ago, seems to have some gaps. According to those who, as of today, are part of the neighborhood groups, in fact, «the new app has been demonstrating bugs in recent weeks which we have reported to the Municipality. I was part – confirms Emanuela Monti, of the Granarolo group – of the historic nucleus of the Granarolo group and today, with the transition to the new instrumentation, I am still part of it. Unfortunately for now I can’t say that it is effective since it doesn’t work and we have reported this to the appropriate people. We hope that the right resolution will be found soon.” But it’s not just the technological issue. «We certainly cannot say that participation is so widespread – Monti continues in his analysis – as today, for Granarolo, those who are part of the group number more or less around fifty people. Still not enough to make this tool, which I have always considered very important and effective for alarming and monitoring our territory, truly a point of reference for the community. We need – he adds – more information and awareness, both on the part of those who are already part of it to broaden membership, and for the public institution which must inform the population in an even more widespread way about the benefits and positive aspects of having this application on your cell phone.” In the area adjacent to the hamlet of Granarolo, in addition to this, other lists of volunteer citizens are also active. One is present, in fact, for the Pieve Cesato district and another for Cassanigo-Sant’Andrea. In total therefore covering a potential of people reaching 2,000 units.
