Overview:

The Neighborhood Watch Communication Tool is a secure, web-based platform designed to connect local residents, volunteers, and authorities to enhance community safety and crime prevention. It provides a space for real-time updates, alerts, incident reporting, and neighborhood collaboration on security concerns.

This project is suitable for final-year Computer Science students using PHP, Java, or Node.js for the backend and HTML, CSS, Bootstrap, JavaScript for the frontend.

Technologies Used:

• Frontend: HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, JavaScript

• Backend: PHP / Java (Spring Boot) / Node.js (Express.js)

• Database: MySQL / MongoDB

• APIs: Google Maps API (for location tagging), Push Notification API (for alerts)

User Roles:

1. Residents: Can register, view updates, post alerts, and interact with neighbors

2. Moderators (Watch Volunteers): Validate incidents, post neighborhood notices

3. Authorities (Optional): View incidents, issue official alerts or safety notices

4. Admin: Manage users, moderate content, view analytics

Core Features:

1. Incident Reporting System

• Users can post incidents (e.g., suspicious activity, break-ins, lost items)

• Include location tagging, description, and photo upload

• View incident history on an interactive community map

2. Real-Time Alerts

• Instant push notifications and emails for emergency updates

• Neighborhood-wide alerts (e.g., curfew reminders, weather warnings)

3. Community Message Board

• Post general messages, safety tips, lost & found, local events

• Comment, like, and reply to discussions

4. Interactive Map

• Pin recent incidents and posts by category and severity

• Filter by time range or incident type (e.g., theft, fire, missing pet)

5. Private Chat & Group Messaging

• Secure 1:1 chat between verified users

• Group chat per block/area for smaller watch groups

6. User Verification & Moderation

• Address-based user registration (e.g., OTP or manual approval)

• Moderators can approve posts and ban/report inappropriate users

7. Admin Dashboard

• Analytics on incident trends, active users, alert stats

• Manage flagged content and bulk user verification