Montgomery County, MD - February 13, 2017 - The Montgomery County Police Department and the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (OEMHS) today announced that they will start using Nextdoor (nextdoor.com), the private social network for neighborhoods, to improve countywide and neighbor-to-neighbor communications.
 
Led by Assistant Chief of Patrol Darryl McSwain and OEMHS Director Earl Stoddard, this integration will enable the Montgomery County Police Department and the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security to use Nextdoor to build stronger, safer communities with the help of Montgomery County residents. The two departments will work directly with neighbors to increase safety related to crime, emergency preparedness, disaster mitigation and recovery.
 
“Montgomery County is an innovative and resourceful county. Nextdoor is another great tool we can use to help us better communicate and reach our residents,” said Assistant Chief McSwain. “We encourage our residents to join us on Nextdoor so that we can work together to create safer and stronger neighborhoods.”
 
Nextdoor is already popular amongst Montgomery County neighbors. More than 425 neighborhoods, representing 80% of Montgomery County, are connected and communicating on the social network.
 
With Nextdoor, Montgomery County residents create private neighborhood websites to share information, including neighborhood public safety issues, community events and activities, local services, and even lost pets. The Police Department and Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security will be able to post information, such as important news, services, programs, free events, and emergency notifications to Nextdoor websites within the county. 
 
“Having the ability to easily communicate with residents is vital to increasing preparedness and resilience within our Montgomery County communities,” said Director Earl Stoddard. “With Nextdoor, we can send hyper-local hazard information and updates directly into neighborhoods, which allows us to reach residents before, during, and after events.”
 
Nextdoor is free for residents and the County. Each Montgomery County neighborhood has its own private Nextdoor neighborhood website, accessible only to residents of that neighborhood. Neighborhoods establish and self-manage their own Nextdoor website and the Police Department and Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security will not be able to access residents’ websites, contact information, or content. All members must verify that they live within the neighborhood before joining Nextdoor. Information shared on Nextdoor is password protected and cannot be accessed by Google or other search engines.
 
The Montgomery County Police Department and Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security join over 2,000 public agencies across the country who are using Nextdoor for Public Agencies to build stronger relationships with their residents.
 
Those interested in joining their neighborhood’s Nextdoor website can visit nextdoor.com and enter their address. If residents have questions about their Nextdoor website, please visit help.nextdoor.com.

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