Mesa County Hoping to Reduce Crime With New Neighbors App

You might be thinking the last thing you need on your smartphone is another app, but here's one that might be worth the add.

The Mesa County Sheriff's Office has now joined the Neighbor's App, which they hope will improve safety in the community and reduce crime.

The App is a social media platform that is designed to share information about local crime and safety and to keep residents informed. The Neighbors App can share photos and videos directly with the Mesa County Sheriff's Office to help solve local crimes. It also enables sheriff's deputies to interact with app users to inform them of recent crimes, offer safety tips, and special alerts specific to their neighborhood.

Users of the app may be asked to share surveillance video to help solve crimes, but it does not give authorities access to home security systems.

Anyone with a smartphone can download the Neighbors App and have the option to post photos or videos from any device.

My initial reaction is that the app seems like a good idea. There is a huge burden on law enforcement to both solve crimes and prevent crimes, but they can't be everywhere at all times. The more eyes that are looking for devious behavior the better the chances of stopping it or catching perpetrators.

The Grand Valley may not have the high rate of crime like a big city, but we do have crime. The more we all can work together, the stronger and safer our communities will be. Give the Neighbors App a try and see how it works.