SafeCity Interactive website allows neighborhood residents to communicate with Police

Marine View Demarwood Improvement Club (MVDIC) is partnering with the Federal Way Police Department and the Federal Way Chamber of Commerce SafeCity program to participate in a residential interactive website that allows neighborhood residents and police to communicate with each other about crime and crime trends in the form of an Online Watch.

Residents of Marine View Demarwood are encouraged to participate in this program.
Please sign up at safecityfw.com

SafeCityFW.com is similar to social media sites. Residents can log onto the web site and post information about suspicious and criminal activity in the area. Law enforcement can also post crime information, suspicious activity, and can alert residents via subscriber's email. The site includes a visual map of incidents for residents to see what's happening within their immediate area.

The Online Watch is an effective tool for citizens and police to combat crime within neighborhoods. Knowledge is power, and if residents are informed about what is happening in their neighborhood (real-time), they become the eyes and ears assisting the police. For example: If a suspect vehicle was identified during a burglary, the information could be posted to the website. The power of reaching the entire neighborhood being on the look out for the suspected vehicle means there is greater potential for catching criminals, and deterring crime. The site is secure and only available to those in our neighborhood.

SafeCityFW.com consists of several online communities that include retail, hospitality, and financial institutions that went live in January 2008. An example of a high profile success occurred in July 2011 when a suspected child abductor was spotted by Sears Loss Prevention after receiving an alert via the online retail community.

The City's goal is to grow this concept block by block across the city in the form of grass roots partnerships between the police and neighborhood organizations prompting community-wide awareness of neighborhood criminal activity.

This program is a first of its kind in the nation. Twin Lakes Home Owners Association was the first residential neighborhood to pilot the SafeCityFW.com website. With approximately 1,400 homes, Twin Lakes Home Owners Association is the largest residential HOA within the City of Federal Way. Our Marine Hills Demarwood area has 325 homes, and an active improvement club, MVDIC, that will be administrating the program for our area.

We also would encourage residents to sign up for our neighborhood email group where you'll receive announcement for neighborhood meetings, and activities. Send your name, email and address to contact@mvdic.org to sign up. Please also consider joining our neighborhood improvement club, MVDIC. We maintain a neighborhood park and beach access for members, along with encouraging community involvement.

For more information, plus news stories about the new program, go to safecityfw.com

-Marine View Demarwood Improvement Club (MVDIC) Board