By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer
The North Royalton Police Department is offering another layer of protection to its residents in the form of an alert system. They have partnered with Nixle to provide residents a Community Notification System. The system will alert residents in real time on local emergencies and advisories that are specific to North Royalton. The service does not cost the city, nor the residents to utilize the new system, although message and data rate may apply to residents, dependent upon your cell phone plan.
Residents have several simple ways to register: They can use their cell phone and Text ZIPCODE to 888777, or sign up online at www.northroyalton.org/en-US/Police-Department.aspx or www.nixle.com with the Nixle Widget. Residents will then receive a confirmation text to their cell phone. They can also customize their settings by going to www.nixle.com and creating a User Profile. Some customizations include choosing what agencies you would like information from, in addition to the North Royalton Police Department, you can choose to shut the system off to your phone between certain hours, or you can add other locations other than North Royalton.
Nixle, founded in 2009, administers a mass communications hub for government agencies in order to provide access to reliable, secure and customized information to residents in a real-time setting. They are partnered with the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System NLETS for data security, in addition to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the National Blue Alert Network, and Google for a broad reach and two-way information exchange. Over 7,200 U.S. agencies utilize the network. “We believe that an informed and engaged community is a strong community. This is why we strive to provide a community outreach and emergency notification platform that brings residents, educators, public safety, and community leaders together,” according to Nixle officials.
“The service is secure, reliable and easy to use for our organization,” said North Royalton Safety Director Bruce Campbell. “It’s another good tool that we have. We continue to look for different avenues to have a strong presence in the community through the social media world. Because of the various levels of demographics that we have, it’s the best way to reach a multitude of people, through the offerings of different social media notification.” Campbell notes that some other methods of social media that the safety forces are using is through Facebook, which allows residents to get a more in-depth feel for what the Fire and Police Departments do. The North Royalton Police Department utilizes Twitter to get messages out quickly and easily. Another form is the Reverse 911, which caters to people who may not utilize cell phone or internet technology. He does point out that the one thing that reverse 911 cannot do is that it does not support graphics. “If we have a missing person, or a robbery, we can send out a picture,” said Campbell. “It’s a quick, efficient and secure way to get out information.”
North Royalton Patrolman “Keith Tarase is our social media representative. He’s been trained and is very involved in social media. He’s spends a lot of time researching the different avenues in how we can keep people informed,” said Campbell. Now, to make social media most effective, it is up to the residents to sign up and take advantage of the various offerings. About seventy residents signed up on the first day alone for Nixle.