Samenvatting

Community WhatsApp consists of a group of local residents sharing information among each other on suspicious situations in the neighborhood through a smartphone app. In the southern Dutch city of Tilburg the author examined whether Community WhatsApp stimulates people to report suspicious situations through the emergency number 112. The stimulus is possibly the appreciation of other participants for being attentive and taking the initiative to call the emergency number. The author found that Community WhatsApp contributes to the diminishing of crime due to the mechanisms of disruption of criminal activities and deterrence.