Burglary-Free Neighbourhood

5.7 burglaries take place every hour. The Ministry of Justice & Security, municipalities, the Public Prosecutor's Office and the police want to reduce this burglary rate through the national programme Burglary-Free Neighbourhood. A key tool for this is a field lab in the neighbourhood itself.

The burglary-free neighbourhood programme stems from the government's policy to reduce the number of burglaries. In collaboration with various municipalities in the Netherlands, field labs are being set up in specifically designated neighbourhoods. The first field lab opened in the autumn of 2018 in the Lombardijen district of Rotterdam. The goal is to create a safe Netherlands and a safe neighbourhood, where you feel safe and are safe. A sharp reduction in the number of burglaries and increase in the clearance rate are part of this.

Approach
The field lab is a test environment where innovative solutions are tested in practice. Innovations are tested in our own project space, in the heart of the neighbourhood. After successful testing, it is implemented in the real world. To this end, we work together with the municipality, businesses, housing corporations, local residents and the police. In addition to attention for technology, there is also attention for social innovations, such as promoting contact with and between local residents and stimulating personal responsibility when it comes to improving home security.

Innovation
Innovations in various areas take place in the Burglary-Free Neighbourhood field labs:

• Social innovation through Neighbourhood WhatsApp groups, for instance, the provision of information about burglary prevention and the appointment of ambassadors in the neighbourhood.
• Scientific research into, for example, specific behaviour of burglars and the corresponding detection thereof with sensors.
• Smart sensors in the neighbourhood that detect abnormal behaviour and give a timely warning.
• Sound detection of sounds that may indicate a burglary in progress.
• Alarm response and the role of local residents.
• Imaging technology that detects specific movements.
• Lighting technology that investigates the effect of colours and the intensity of light.

Business
The Burglary-Free Neighbourhood programme aims to reduce the number of burglaries in the neighbourhood in cooperation with municipalities, public organisations and the business community. This social issue is key. Companies that want to commit themselves to this are given the opportunity to test out ideas and technology in a field lab, such as in the Rotterdam residential area of Lombardijen. One of the partners, for instance, is insurer Interpolis. Three of the services of this insurer have been incorporated in the programme: the SlimThuis (SmartAtHome) app, with tips and tricks to make a house unattractive to burglars, the SlimThuis Check, in which an expert provides advice on security measures at the home, and ThuisWacht (HomeGuard), a home automation system to secure a home.

Participation
Companies that wish to participate in the field lab must agree to a number of conditions. Firstly, the Burglary-Free Neighbourhood programme applies the principle of open data and transparency. Collected data will be published, except for specific proprietary information and applications. Secondly, the collaboration may not result in a vendor lock-in. Finally, companies must be demonstrably reliable and substantiate how they will contribute to the objective of the programme.

Contact Details
Burglary-Free Neighbourhood Programme
info@inbraakvrijewijk.nl