{"id":320880,"date":"2025-11-07T15:01:51","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T20:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/?p=134358"},"modified":"2025-11-07T15:01:51","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T20:01:51","slug":"rings-reimagines-neighborhood-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/home\/security-systems\/rings-reimagines-neighborhood-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"Ring&#8217;s Deal with Police Reimagines Neighborhood Watch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<p>The next-gen neighborhood watch program is here, and it\u2019s still largely packaged by Amazon\u2019s Ring and its Neighbors app. While other tech companies scurry to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/40545455\/dont-let-your-smart-home-lock-you-in\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">win your smart home platform<\/a> (are you going to be a Works with Google Assistant family? Did you already commit to Apple HomeKit?), Amazon has focused on the community-safety layer \u2014 one that now operates with tighter rules around police access after Ring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">removed in-app police video requests<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Its home security brand Ring historically partnered with a rapidly growing list of public safety agencies to establish Ring as the security system of choice for not just individual homes, but for entire communities. By mid\u20112022, more than 2,100 agencies were on Neighbors <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">according to reporting<\/a>, and in 2024 Ring sunset the Neighbors \u201cRequest for Assistance\u201d tool, ending in\u2011app police video solicitations and shifting access to user consent or legal process <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">per coverage<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/ring.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">company guidance<\/a>.<br><\/p>\n\n\n  <style>\n    .myFinance-widget {\n    min-height: 670px;\n    }\n  <\/style>\n  <div class=\"myFinance-widget\" data-widget-id=\"7c9fe833-dde7-4eb5-b71f-d741b8cccd66\" data-campaign=\"reviews-non-monitored-security\"><\/div>\n\n<script async=\"\" type=\"text\/javascript\" id=\"myFinance-widget-script\">\n  !function () {function e() {var s = \"myFinance-widget-ad-script\";if (!document.getElementById(s)) {var e = document.createElement(\"script\"), n = document.getElementById(\"myFinance-widget-script\"), a = t + \"widget\/myFinance.js\";e.id = s, e.type = \"text\/javascript\", e.async = !0, e.src = a, n.parentNode.insertBefore(e, n);}var c = \"myFinance-widget-css\";if (!document.getElementById(c)) {var d = document.getElementsByTagName(\"head\")[0], i = document.createElement(\"link\");i.id = c, i.rel = \"stylesheet\", i.type = \"text\/css\", i.href = t + \"widget\/myFinance.css\", i.media = \"all\", d.appendChild(i)}}var t = \"https:\/\/static.myfinance.com\/\";document.attachEvent ? document.attachEvent(\"onreadystatechange\", function () {\"complete\" === document.readyState && e()}) : document.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", e, !1)}();\n<\/script>\n\n\n<p>If you live in the jurisdiction of one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">400 participating police forces<\/a> across the U.S. who have entered into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/home\/security-systems\/ring-alarm-review\/\">video-sharing agreements with Ring<\/a>, you may have been offered discounted Ring products or invited to enter Amazon-subsidized giveaways. As early reporting noted those 400 partnerships, public disclosures later indicated that more than 2,100 public safety agencies were on Neighbors by mid\u20112022 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">source<\/a>. In 2024, Ring ended in\u2011app police video requests on Neighbors <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">and<\/a> agencies now rely on direct user sharing or lawful process <a href=\"https:\/\/ring.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">to obtain footage<\/a>. After installing, many users simply participate in the Neighbors app; whether to share is voluntary.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how it works: Should a crime occur in your vicinity, police may reach out to you and request your camera\u2019s footage. Agencies can no longer broadcast mass \u201cRequests for Assistance\u201d through Neighbors, but they can still obtain videos with your consent or via a warrant, subpoena, or court order <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">as covered<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/ring.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">as Ring describes<\/a>. You are free to share or decline (though <a href=\"https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/ring-gave-police-stats-about-users-who-said-no-to-law-e-1837713840\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">anonymity is not certain<\/a>). Ring also offers a social media component, the Neighbors app. Post footage of suspicious trespassers or package thieves \u2014 and browse what was captured by other Ring cameras nearby.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Best case scenario: Thanks to your Ring camera, police are able to apprehend culprits. Worst case scenario: You contribute to the racial profiling that <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/en_us\/article\/8xzwpz\/new-campaign-demands-end-to-amazons-partnerships-with-police\" target=\"_blank\">Motherboard reported<\/a> as prevalent in the Neighbors app \u2014 they found that people of color were disproportionately tagged as \u201csuspicious\u201d people or \u201cstrangers\u201d by Neighbors users. Civil-liberties groups continue to warn that these dynamics persist and can burden marginalized communities <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eff.org\/deeplinks\/2024\/01\/ring-will-no-longer-allow-police-request-video-users-through-neighbors\">according to EFF<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From the consumer\u2019s perspective, there\u2019s plenty of solid reasons to go with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/home\/security-systems\/ring-alarm-review\/\">video-sharing agreements with Ring<\/a> for home security. It\u2019s an affordable system with easy setup and useful automations \u2014 you can schedule a series of actions based on whether your alarm is set to \u201chome\u201d or \u201caway\u201d \u2014 though many camera features (saved video history, smart alerts, and sharing) require an active Ring Protect subscription <a href=\"https:\/\/support.ring.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/360038012613-What-is-Ring-Protect\">per Ring<\/a>. In today\u2019s market, Ring remains strong on motion intelligence but still lacks native 24\/7 continuous recording compared with some competitors, so weigh features against your needs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s more, you can get most of the benefits of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/home\/security-systems\/best\/\">home security<\/a> even without professional monitoring, but note that saving and reviewing recorded videos and using advanced alerts generally requires a Ring Protect plan; without it, you\u2019ll have live view and notifications but no video history. Professional monitoring for Ring Alarm is available only with the Protect Pro tier <a href=\"https:\/\/support.ring.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/360038012613-What-is-Ring-Protect\">per Ring\u2019s plan details<\/a> \u2014 it\u2019s still plug and play, just plan for the subscription if you want full functionality.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Frequent, uncontextualized alerts about petty crime and strangers glimpsed on the street could foster fear and reify prejudice. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>But as tech journalist Jared Newman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/90397950\/rings-smart-home-plans-would-sound-great-if-ring-itself-was-less-frightening?utm_campaign=eem524%3A524%3As00%3A20190902_fc&amp;utm_medium=Compass&amp;utm_source=newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">recently wrote<\/a> in Fast Company, \u201cPersonally, I\u2019m wary of a company that quietly encourages police departments to help sell more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/home\/security-systems\/video-doorbells-guide\/\">doorbell cameras<\/a>.\u201d Even after Ring\u2019s 2024 policy change ended in\u2011app police video requests, questions remain about how neighborhood\u2011watch apps shape fear and behavior \u2014 the larger issue posed by neighborhood watches in the era of mass surveillance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the FBI publishes its annual report on U.S. crime, it repeatedly includes a caveat: <a href=\"https:\/\/cde.ucr.fbi.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">beware of drawing conclusions<\/a>. Statistics don\u2019t tell the whole story \u2014 positive trends aren&#8217;t represented alongside negative ones, and low-level crimes can be lumped in with serious ones, misleadingly inflating numbers and \u201cadversely affecting communities and their residents.\u201d Meanwhile, independent tracking shows many violent offenses have declined in recent periods across large cities, but those macro shifts cannot be credibly attributed to Ring or police\u2013Ring video\u2011sharing <a href=\"https:\/\/counciloncj.org\/crime-trends\/\">according to the Council on Criminal Justice<\/a>; there remains no rigorous, peer\u2011reviewed evidence that Ring partnerships reduce neighborhood crime at scale <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brennancenter.org\/our-work\/analysis-opinion\">as policy analysts note<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That reminder to take stats with a grain of salt accompanies a once-a-year report. The Ring Neighbor\u2019s app delivers a local crime report once a week. Frequent, uncontextualized alerts about petty crime and strangers glimpsed on the street could foster fear and reify prejudice, a risk that remains even after in\u2011app police requests ended in 2024. Maybe in the next update, a gentle reminder of neighborliness can pop up when you get home and Ring flips on the lights and sets your thermostat to 72 degrees.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n  <style>\n    .myFinance-widget {\n    min-height: 670px;\n    }\n  <\/style>\n  <div class=\"myFinance-widget\" data-widget-id=\"7c9fe833-dde7-4eb5-b71f-d741b8cccd66\" data-campaign=\"reviews-non-monitored-security\"><\/div>\n\n<script async=\"\" type=\"text\/javascript\" id=\"myFinance-widget-script\">\n  !function () {function e() {var s = \"myFinance-widget-ad-script\";if (!document.getElementById(s)) {var e = document.createElement(\"script\"), n = document.getElementById(\"myFinance-widget-script\"), a = t + \"widget\/myFinance.js\";e.id = s, e.type = \"text\/javascript\", e.async = !0, e.src = a, n.parentNode.insertBefore(e, n);}var c = \"myFinance-widget-css\";if (!document.getElementById(c)) {var d = document.getElementsByTagName(\"head\")[0], i = document.createElement(\"link\");i.id = c, i.rel = \"stylesheet\", i.type = \"text\/css\", i.href = t + \"widget\/myFinance.css\", i.media = \"all\", d.appendChild(i)}}var t = \"https:\/\/static.myfinance.com\/\";document.attachEvent ? document.attachEvent(\"onreadystatechange\", function () {\"complete\" === document.readyState && e()}) : document.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", e, !1)}();\n<\/script>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The next-gen neighborhood watch program is here, and it\u2019s still largely packaged by Amazon\u2019s Ring and its Neighbors app. While other tech companies scurry to win your smart home platform (are you going to be a Works with Google Assistant family? Did you already commit to Apple HomeKit?), Amazon has focused on the community-safety layer [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":345,"featured_media":134361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1286],"tags":[],"post_author":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ring&#039;s Deal with Police Reimagines Neighborhood Watch - Reviews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A guide to Ring&#039;s Deal with Police Reimagines Neighborhood Watch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/home\/security-systems\/rings-reimagines-neighborhood-watch\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ring&#039;s Deal with Police Reimagines Neighborhood Watch - 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