Announcements

Nextdoor Removes ‘Forward to Police’ Feature

Written by Team Nextdoor

Public agencies, including mayors, governors, fire departments, police departments, and health departments, turn to Nextdoor every day to directly share critical, real-time information with people in the neighborhood. Law enforcement agencies have had an additional feature that they can enable called “Forward to Police,” which allows a neighbor on Nextdoor to forward their safety post or urgent alert to local law enforcement.

We have made the decision to remove the Forward to Police feature from Nextdoor.  As part of Nextdoor’s antiracism initiatives and our efforts to make Nextdoor a place where all neighbors feel welcome, we have been examining all aspects of our product. After speaking with members and public agency partners, it is clear that the Forward to Police feature does not meet the needs of our members and only a small percentage of law enforcement agencies chose to use the tool. 

Nextdoor is committed to providing tools that enable neighbors and public agencies to communicate effectively. We will continue to work closely with our public agency partners from around the world to empower neighbors to stay informed and build stronger communities.


To connect with your local neighborhood, login at Nextdoor.com.

45 Comments

  • I’m Glad!, Everybody keeps telling me Call 911, Call 911 for everything,when ususally in any Organization,it has Agency’s with-in Itself and Different Depts. to get the Problem or Issue, Solved Themselves.

  • Our Police Officers are too busy to be bothered with reading Blogs.
    Good decision.
    Catherine Dixon

  • I agree with the removal of the referral feature. It’s not needed onthe Nextdoor website and could be misused. If anyone has a problem, there are other ways to bring it to the attention of appropriate officials.

  • When Steven and I were on the deptarment (Police officers both of us)we walked the streets oif Parkville and we knew all the shops , the owners and their wives and children . We also knew the names and address of all the black families and their kids . the kids loved us and we loved them too.

    i have been married to Steven and lived in Parkville for 5 years and never seen a Parkville officer walking the streets like we did.. and i bet they do know half the shops or the owners names either.

  • Good move!
    This is not a forum to vent political views and persuade others.
    It is to inform neighbors of community concerns.

  • What about a category for politics? The only way for conservatives, liberals and in between to understand one another is to talk….to one another. Keep it civil, of course. Especially right now with so much going on, that would be a valuable contribution for our neighbors and our community.

  • Call your cities non-emergency number if you see anything suspicious.
    Follow the community guidelines and skip posting it on NextDoor….

    • This is exactly my thought. I have Ring, and we often recommend calling the non-emergency #, and provide it in our posts. Maybe each city group should provide that # to their neighbors group.

  • Well sounds good but sometimes we do need the police to help us settle simple disputes

  • First off, I think it was an excellent statement of Nextdoor’s position on its platform being used to promote racism, or even worse, being used in a disrespectful manner to African Americans and other people of color. Given the number of people of color and the number of African Americans that use this platform, your stance was very encouraging.

    Second, your action to remove the “Forward to Police” feature from Nextdoor, I think was a not only a good one, but a necessary one, in light of the many publicized abuses of people “weaponizing their racism and bias’s, by calling the police and using the police as a means to perpetrate their hate and racial insensitivities. Nextdoor was certainly no place that.

    Again, I thank you very much for your support and respect of (all) of us who use Nextdoor and for stating that support and respect publicly, and in such a straightforward and forthright way.

    I (we) thank, Nextdoor’s CEO, Sarah Friar for your leadership. We are grateful and thankful for your leadership at this moment in time.

    • Thank you for this action, and the one prior to this, where your publicized your position on “Racism has no place on Nextdoor.”

      First off, I think it was an excellent statement of Nextdoor’s position on its platform being used to promote racism, or even worse, being used in a disrespectful manner to African Americans and other people of color. Given the number of people of color and the number of African Americans that use this platform, your stance was very encouraging.

      Second, your action to remove the “Forward to Police” feature from Nextdoor, I think was a not only a good one, but a necessary one, in light of the many publicized abuses of people “weaponizing their racism and bias’s, by calling the police and using the police as a means to perpetrate their hate and racial insensitivities. Nextdoor was certainly no place that.

      Again, I thank you very much for your support and respect of (all) of us who use Nextdoor and for stating that support and respect publicly, and in such a straightforward and forthright way.

      I (we) thank, Nextdoor’s CEO, Sarah Friar for your leadership. We are grateful and thankful for your leadership at this moment in time.

  • Thank you. As a retired criminologist and former director of a criminal justice program, we have too long called on the police to solve problems and misunderstandings that belong within families and among neighbors. We have stopped talking to and listening to one another and have turned instead to third parties (police, courts, HOAs, governments) to force people to do what we want them to do and then become angry when they don’t or can’t. I started community dispute settlement centers under the tutelage of the American Bar Association (Larry Ray) as part of the public housing drug elimination program back in the 70s and 80s to try to break down this trend and move disputes back into the communities where more permanent solutions can be found. Yesterday. I received an email from a group espousing “Call Me Not the Police” (BIT.LY/18MR-CALLME) espousing similar values to those expressed here and those of the Safe Neighborhood Awareness Program that I developed.

    Keep up the good work. Maybe the message will get out and things will change. Let’s hope.

  • It is more important to me to be informed of problems and crime in the neighborhood that need to be addressed for our safety! If racial equality means not being informed of neighborhood crime, then we are not in a better place on this forum! Our police are an important part of our community and there is no problem with police if you are not committing crimes.

  • Forward to Police feature should be removed. Since when are we a culture that tattles on each other. It has gone too far. I got a spanking when I was a child for tattling on another child. The kicker is I never given did the crime! Grow Up America, speak up for injustice and respect each other and we will be fine. Stop this “I’m going to tell” attitude.

  • I would not send something I wanted the police to know thru this app in the first place, if I need police help, I know how to fial 911!

  • Thank you! This is absolutely not the place to be reporting neighbors or any other “suspicious activity” that you aren’t sure is even a crime. That only, at best, encourages gossip, and, at worst, racism or intolerance. In addition, if you find this unacceptable, then stop using this website.

  • I hope you will still report the crimes that happen in the neighborhoods . That is a protection for us. We need to be alerted when something happens on our street. It has everything to do with our safety and nothing to do with racism.

  • Racism has no place anywhere. I’m in full agreement. Not knowing the entire algorithm of Forward-To-Police, I can’t say I agree or disagree with the functionality being available or not. I do wonder if police have capacity for one more source of input. Was “Forward To Police” requested by “the police” or did the idea bubble up from users or from the platform mgt? I do find it helpful to see reports of various kinds of questionable activities and vandalism in my neighborhood.

  • Excellent post. I was checking constantly this
    blog and I’m impressed! Extremely useful information specially the last part :
    ) I care for such information a lot. I was looking for
    this particular information for a long time. Thank you and
    best of luck.

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