Tamborine Mountain has become one of the first locations for a new public safety alert system called StreetBuzz.
The social media platform provides hyper-local crime and public safety announcements, lost and found reports as well as a community noticeboard.
StreetBuzz developer Finn ‘Lucci’ Johnson said there was a gap in the market for hyper-local alerts which Facebook could not fulfill.
“I thought if I built my own ecosystem, I could create something purpose-designed for community content,” he explained.
It launched on Tamborine Mountain and the Gold Coast just over two months ago and caught the eye of locals Ben Buchan and Guy Johnstone who believe it will provide an invaluable asset to the community.
“It lets criminals know someone is watching them,” Mr Buchan said.
Mr Johnstone, who has lived on the mountain for 22 years, has been the victim of a late-night home invasion which took police over two hours to respond to, has had his motorbike stolen, and his wife has suffered an attempted carjacking near the showgrounds.
“The mountain is a criminal’s smorgasbord, with no effective police presence after hours,” Mr Johnstone stated.
He said StreetBuzz could be an effective community defence, but stressed it was not a vigilante group.
“It is information collection and awareness.”
Mr Johnson said the app requires individuals to have a verified account to ensure they are a real person and local.
He can also see potential for the app to be used during disasters to improve communication.
“It is very geo-specific, only providing notifications within five kilometres of where you set your location, with alerts on a one-kilometre radius, even if you are away out of that range,” he said.
The alerts are categorised and ranked according to urgency.
“It’s just locals looking out for one another,” Finn said.
“It provides a curated experience for people to get information on what matters and where it matters, which Facebook doesn’t provide,” he said.
Mr Buchan and Mr Johnstone will become ‘beekeepers’ or administrators and ensure vexatious content is not posted.
Mr Johnson said while the app is still in development, he will be guided by community feedback and reiterated it would be closely monitored for vigilante activity.
Tamborine Mountain police Sergeant Bradley Doyle said the Queensland Police Service encourages positive community discussions about safety and current community issues.
“Members of the community are able to access and receive notifications relating to important community safety announcements at the www.MyPolice.qld.gov.au website,” Sergeant Doyle said.
“If members have information that they believe may assist police with any investigations, they can contact Crime Stoppers online or via phone on 1800 333 000, or alternative contact police link on 131444.”
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