<p>Community safety groups across Canada that are non-state actors and have few affiliations with government entities or police are emerging as prominent players in the security field. These community groups conduct surveillance in their neighbourhoods, and maintain an online presence where they share images and information. Little research has examined how these groups engage in surveillance or what their overall objectives and strategies are, especially in Canada. Little research has examined how these groups are depicted in local media or the claims these groups make in such media venues. In this paper, we analyze local media accounts of these community safety groups and we examine the claims that these groups make. We find that the claims that community groups make in local media are revealing of the strategies and goals of these groups as well as the effects they have in their cities. We also find that these groups focus on security, surveillance, and vigilance, yet there is little focus on wider community development or inclusion evident in these claims. This analysis adds to literature on community safety in the online and digital age by showing that community safety groups invoke powers of the state (policing, surveillance, territoriality) or emulate state power in miniature.</p>