The Calgary police are putting their social media ear to the ground, right at the neighbourhood level through the use of an app that’s become relatively popular among community groups.
The application has made such a big presence in the city that the Calgary Police Service (CPS) decided to join in February 2024 and stay informed of the specific events happening in Calgary’s communities.
Nextdoor is an application that connects community members, so they can stay on top of what’s happening through posts on an open forum chat board. According to the Calgary police, thus far there have been 490,051 impressions on the app citywide. Their presence on the application serves 139,684 members, with 113,141 households and 257 neighbourhoods.
That insight into the community is what appealed to the Calgary police, according to Michael Nunn, CPS director of Strategic Communications.
“I think it’s really to meet the community’s needs. What we were hearing is that people appreciated the social media platforms we have but they perhaps wanted something more tailored specifically to their communities,” said Nunn.
The police add in area-specific events related to CPS. For example, the Coffee with a Cop, Nunn said. They also provide relevant crime information according to the area, as well as geotagging the locations.
“What we can do with Nextdoor is geotag it and make it specifically for the communities that are specifically facing different issues,” said Nunn.
So far, there’s been positive feedback with the CPS participation on the app.
“People are certainly appreciating that kind of tailored information,” said Nunn.
According to a 2024 research paper done by the University of Colorado, the Nextdoor app has provided a community watch encouraging residents to watch out for one another. Still, there have been many accusations that have emerged from users regarding propaganda about prejudices and racial stereotypes. Further, the research suggested that there’s often a steady stream of reports associated with “unfounded accusations.”
“Overall, if used accurately, the platform offers users a means to disseminate crime information promptly and opportunity,” the research states.
“Additionally, the app enables users to remain informed and updated on what is occurring in their neighbourhoods, a task that is not easily achieved through traditional mechanisms such as law enforcement notifications and local news.”
Users see value in CPS presence on Nextdoor
Nextdoor user Merilucy Knox, who participates in the Tuscany community thread, has been using the application for about a year. She finds that the application is useful for staying up to date on anything happening in her community.
“I just use it to find out what’s happening in our community and just kind of stay on top of different things like that,” said Knox.
Knox believes having the CPS present on the app is a positive support aspect for Nextdoors users.
“I appreciate having the Calgary Police Service on Nextdoor. They are engaging with the public at a community level and providing up-to-date information about community-specific issues,” said Knox.
“By having them on the site I feel more informed and it provides a forum where people can ask questions, provide suggestions and highlight areas for improvement.”
According to Knox, the application is not only just used for crime prevention information but also for buying and selling items, lifestyle recommendations and more.
“People use the app for a lot of different things,” said Knox
The application also provides spaces for its users to bring up desired topics that, according to Knox, are not appropriate for the application space.
“Because it’s an open forum where people can discuss things or bring things up and then it just kind of like incites people and that part I do not like. I don’t think that’s the right place to call out people for different things,” Knox said.
The content that the Calgary Police Service provides on the application has been reshared on other social media platforms for the community to best stay informed for the future.
