Crime & Safety

Police to Use New Alert System Via Text Message

Nixle is the latest technological initiative the Westport Police Department is using to disseminate information to the public.

From crime mapping to submitting police reports online, the Westport Police Department has used the latest technology to provide convenience and to keep residents aware of what is going on in their communities.

On Wednesday, the department announced another initiative set to launch Aug. 1  —  a new community information service designed to deliver information to residents via e-mail and text messages.

The service, created by Nixle, LLC , delivers trustworthy and timely neighborhood-level public safety and community event notifications by web, e-mail and text message, according to Deputy Chief Dale Call of the Westport PD. This service will be used for general information and incidents which do not necessarily rise to the level of a CodeRED  activation, although both can be used together, he said.

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Westport residents can choose to be alerted to timely events such as road closures, Amber Alerts, missing children and vulnerable adults and other incidents where informing the public is important. Messages are sent out at different levels including "Alert," "Advisory," "Community," and "Traffic." The Westport Police Department then has the option of sending out messages to all subscribed members or just those in the vicinity of the incident.

Residents can sign up at www.nixle.com. The user can choose to have messages sent to their text capable phone, e-mail, both or simply log on to Nixle and view the messages. Levels of messages sent can also be chosen by residents to lessen the amount of texts sent or increase the connection to the Westport Police Department. Users also can set unlimited locations, such as home, work, school, their friends' or grandparents' homes, etc., to stay informed about area incidents as well as widespread notifications. Although a free service, standard text messaging rates apply to subscribers with limited or no text messaging plans with their cell phone provider.

Find out what's happening in Westportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"The Westport Police Department has been looking at various social networking options for the past year," Call said. "Although Twitter and Facebook are being used more often in law enforcement they do not offer the level of security and protection from hackers that Nixle does."

Call stated that this service is another way that the Westport Police Department is using new technology to get information to residents. In the past year the department had added Internet reporting and up-to-date crime data online.

Westport residents are encouraged to sign up to receive these messages, especially those who live, work and frequent the area, Call said. Businesses that employ drivers or citizens who commute frequently are encouraged to sign up, so when a person is reported missing, additional eyes are assisting law enforcement in making a quick and safe recovery. Also, the department will make every effort to publish road closures in a timely fashion so fast changing weather and law enforcement related road closures won't catch drivers off guard, Call said.

For more information about Nixle, go to www.nixle.com. For questions regarding the messages sent out by the Westport Police Department, call 203-341-6000.


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