ERA, the UK’s home security specialist, has teamed up with Safeland, a company that has designed a unique app to help communities feel safer and better protected against crime.

Focusing on the idea that crimes may be reduced or prevented if members of a local community act together and look out for one another, Safeland was created to provide the means for a group of individuals to communicate via a smart phone app, in the event of a burglary for instance.

Effortlessly connecting to ERA’s range of home alarms, including the recently launched ERA HomeGuard Pro, Safeland immediately alerts community members if the alarm is triggered, allowing them to quickly and discretely communicate via instant app messaging, warning each other of potential dangers and pulling the entire neighbourhood together. Given that a burglary can take place in less than 8 minutes, and police may not arrive in time, knowing that people will be alerted acts as an effective deterrent to would-be intruders. In fact, ERA’s recent research shows that 90% of residents would investigate a sounding alarm in their neighbourhood.

A Safeland connected home benefits from the added protection of the whole connected community – one home with an alarm system can be a secure home but several connected homes in close proximity make a house even more secure. As the Safeland community grows, intruders will be extra cautious about entering a Safeland connected community.

Per Kallgarden, Safeland CEO said: "Safeland is not just an app, it’s a shift in mentality. We hope people start to view their neighbours as peers instead of strangers. Safeland is simply a tool to help achieve this."

In addition, being entirely security-focused, Safeland moves away from general day-to-day social media conversations, such as refuse collections, allowing serious security talk with like-minded people.

Once an ERA wireless intruder alarm is simply connected to Safeland, the user either creates a private group of their most trusted neighbours or joins an existing group within Safeland. As part of a Connect Homes group, if a member’s home alarm is triggered, they will work together as a team to fix the problem.

Encouragingly, the Metropolitan Police have reported beneficial results following its uptake - PC Tom Curtis of the Met Police said: "Several arrests would not have been made without Safeland.’ Whilst Safeland can help police forces working with already stretched resources as PC Kat Johnson, also of the Met Police commented, ‘This tool allows police to have a presence in a digital environment that is safe and accessible to anyone. We really look forward to seeing how it enhances our engagement with the community."

Safeland UK manager, Sheona Urquhart said: "We followed the logic of ‘first responders’, where people who are geographically closer to an incident can be of vital assistance before emergency services arrive to a scene.

"With Safeland, trusted nearby neighbours of a threatened home are alerted straight away. They are then able to provide witness accounts or call police when a burglary is taking place. If burglars know neighbours could be on to them in seconds, we predict they will stop targeting communities that are actively connected."