A neighborhood watch for the digital age, utilising the power of social networking, has been proposed. Two lecturers in the US have suggested creating a network of Community Response Grids (CRG) in conjunction with the emergency services. Citizens could leave text, video and photos on the site of emergencies, natural disasters and terror attacks. A pilot could start later this year based on an idea of a nationwide network of 911.gov websites. The 911 telephone system functions effectively when there are traffic accidents, health emergencies or small fires, but when large numbers of people are involved it does not handle the capacity. The proposal is for community-driven websites to be run by trained volunteers working in conjunction with the 6,100 local 911 services around the US. Citizen reporters would report to a centralized authority who will take care of emergency response coordination and allocate scarce resources of police fire and medical services.
