Amazon to bring ‘neighbourhood watch’ anti-crime app to Britain
‘We’re looking to bring it to other markets [the UK] is one of the biggest and most important’
‘The reality is we live in a world of cameras ...our goal is to let people know they are being recorded ...’
HOMEOWNERS will be able to share footage from video doorbells to alert neighbours about suspected crimes under plans for a neighbourhood watch app from Amazon.
The tech giant’s smart doorbell company, Ring, is considering launching a grassroots social network called Neighbours in countries such as the UK.
The smartphone app connects to video doorbells to allow users to post footage of suspected crimes and receive real-time alerts on incidents in their area. The app, which currently exists in the United States, has been criticised for its relationship with police forces but Liz Hamren, Ring’s chief executive, said the company wants to expand it.
“We’re looking at bringing that to other markets,” she said, adding that the UK “is one of the biggest and most important markets”.
Ms Hamren said there was “nothing to share at this time but one of the things I’m excited about is people being able to share a wide range of videos with their neighbours”.
Almost one in five British households (18 per cent) have a smart doorbell, security camera or alarm system, according to Ofcom, up from 5 per cent in 2020. That has happened amid growing criticism that police are failing to pursue criminals for cases such as bicycle and vehicle theft.
Video doorbells are also seen as a way of deterring package theft, which has exploded as online shopping grows and fewer people are working from home.
Membership of Neighbourhood Watch, the community organisation designed to keep streets safe, has fallen by half since 2000.
Ring launched the Neighbours app in the US in 2018. It connects to video doorbells to allow users to post about local crime and safety issues and receive real-time alerts on incidents in the area.
It has been criticised for exaggerating the perceived levels of crime as well as for its close working with police and, last week, Ring said it would no longer allow police to request footage through the app and from residents direct.
Video doorbell footage was used in the conviction of Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens over the murder of Sarah Everard in 2021 and the conviction of Collin Reeves for the double murder of his relatives in Somerset.
The devices, with their high quality cameras, have also been credited with reducing the number of drivers fleeing the scene of accidents.
However, smart doorbells, hyperlocal social networks and neighbourhood Whatsapp groups have been accused of encouraging a new form of digital curtain twitching.
Ms Hamren said people are used to surveillance. “The reality of the world that we live in is that there are lots of cameras,” she said. “Our goal is to let people know they’re being recorded because they’re standing in front of a doorbell; that transparency is the really important part.”
She added: “We are not investing in technology that allows public agencies to request [footage] within our app ... our stakeholder is the consumer. It is about making sure we are empowering them to do the things they want to do.”