(WSB Radio)  As residents in the Kirkwood area of Atlanta rally for safety, another East Atlanta neighborhood is using social networking to keep their streets safe.

Safe Atlanta For Everyone (SAFE) began last year, following a rash of crimes in the area.

"Some of us decided we need to get together and figure out something, but we didn't know what," says Lewis Cartee, one of SAFE's founders.  Residents gathered in a local restaurant and discussed their options.  Cartee says they started brainstorming and a simple question was asked.

"How can you communicate to people in the most efficient way and the fastest way possible," Cartee tells WSB.  "And it came down to what do most people have today?  It's a cell phone.  And what can they get?  It's a text."

From there, the idea of using Twitter was born.

"From Twitter you can create groups," he says.  "So we decided to create a group specific to each area that we can then, if one person wants to send out a tweet through Twitter, to go out to members who are part of that specific, private Twitter group, they'll all receive it instantaneously."

"This is a unique application of Twitter's group tweet technology," says Matt Podowitz, another of SAFE's founding members.  "Membership in the group allows each individual to send out a message to all of the other volunteers with breaking news, if you will, regarding public safety in the neighborhood."

There are more than 20,000 neighborhood watch groups in the United States, four times the number from five years ago.  And as police departments struggle during tough economic times, the neighborhood watches become more important to residents.  Of all the thousands of watches in place, only a very few use Twitter for protection.

Podowitz says selling the idea to the residents in East Atlanta was surprisingly easy.

"It wasn't about the technology, it was about the potential benefits," he says.

Using Twitter for crime prevention also turned out to be relatively simple.

"Whether people used Twitter before they were introduced to SafeWatch and our emergency alert system, they wanted that benefit," says Podowitz.  "From the user's perspective, it simply becomes an additional text message that you get on your cell phone.  Even if you weren't using Twitter, there was a good chance you were already familiar with the texting technology."

There are 250 members of SAFE, with 56 people volunteering as "SafeWatchers."  They walk the neighborhood, armed with their cell phone, and Twitter.

"This allows a SafeWatcher, who is walking their route, or their neighborhood, and sees suspicious behavior, to not only call 911, but to immediately alert all of the other SafeWatchers of that activity," says Podowitz.  "Those other SafeWatchers can either get involved and continue to observe their behavior as the person moves between neighborhoods, or they can let people know that they need to avoid a potentially dangerous situation until the police arrive."

SAFE's organizers say they're not out to replace the police, but to assist them in preventing crime.

"You can be the eyes and ears for the APD," Cartee says.  "Our goal is just to help them help us.  We're not looking to stop crime, but rather to deter criminal activity.  It is much easier to deter crime than it is to catch a criminal."

The 56 SafeWatchers who walk the neighborhood contribute, Podowitz estimates, at least 3 to 4 hours a week.  That adds up to as much as 200 manhours of neighborhood watching that the APD's Zone 6 gets for free.  Both Cartee and Podowitz say, with police budgets as tight as they are, it is up to area residents to take action and work towards helping protect their homes. 

Twitter is not the only way SAFE alerts area residents.  They also use a message board, fliers, newsletters and meetings.  But Twitter allows instant access to safety alerts. 

Both Cartee and Podowitz say they want to export their methods to other neighborhoods, from Peachtree City to Poughkeepsie, or anywhere people want to keep their streets safe.

More information on the SafeWatch Twitter alert system, and on SAFE, can be found at their website, Safe Atlanta For Everyone