West Point police are going the extra mile to help their neighbors

Protecting yourself and those around you is what law enforcement encourages their citizens to do

WEST POINT, Miss. (WCBI)- Protecting yourself and those around you is what law enforcement encourages their citizens to do. Columbus and Lowndes’s county partnered with Ring doorbell to help cut down on crimes around people’s homes, and now the West Point Police Department got on board by joining the Neighbors app. Officials say that people who send in pictures and videos through the Neighbors app are key pieces to keeping their areas clear of any suspicious activity.

Detective Ramirez Ivy said that since joining with the Neighbors app in early August; several people have already reported possible criminal incidents around them.

“If you have any type of suspicious activity going on in your neighborhood or around your house you see someone jumping your fence or you see somebody in your front yard you can take that video and share it to the neighbors’ community,” said Ivy.

If situations get hectic in a specific spot the police department is able to alert everyone around the area.

“If we have certain occurrences in the areas say for instance we have the unfortunate shootings or burglaries we can pinpoint that area and let them know that we’re having these types of crimes in that area,” said Ivy.

By using the neighbor’s app you can get notifications if someone is in or on your property and it not only protects the home but the pets and people in them; getting a camera set up can be just a click away.

“They make it a lot easier to get cameras than they use to in the day you don’t have to worry about anybody coming out wiring your house you can easily go online and find you some great cameras,” said Ivy.

Though people can submit pictures and videos of things going on they are still encouraged to document those situations.

“We still advise people to make police reports this is not a substitute for making police reports this is just another tool to help us better investigate the issues taking place in their areas,” said Ivy.

Ivy strongly encourages businesses and homeowners to invest in a surveillance system to join their neighbors in trying to prevent crime.