« Heavy rain, lightning today and Sunday maybe snow | Today | Reporter's query: Seeking tales of being a bridesmaid »

January 11, 2008

Providence Police: Txt 4 Info

PROVIDENCE -- A child from your neighborhood has been abducted, but you don't know that. As a matter of fact, you just saw her walking down the street with someone.

But what if you had received a text message from the Police Department minutes after she had gone missing? You could let the police department know, within seconds, where you saw her last, describe the person she was with, which direction she was going.

Calling it "the next step in our use of technology," Col. Dean Esserman, Providence police chief, announced a partnership with Citizen Observer, a system that sends alerts using email and the ever-present text message, and lets people send anonymous tips to the department via texting.

The department has been researching an alert system for the past year, according to Chief Steven Melaragno who is the architect of this program, along with Lindsay Richardson, of the chief's office.

The system, for which the department will pay $12,000 for a two-year subscription, will allow for greater communication with the community, Melaragno said, and will offer alerts in English and Spanish.

You can sign up online for the service here.

Melaragno said text messages are sent through an encryption service before they reach the police station, ensuring anonymity.

Even so, he said, research in other cities -- such as Boston, which uses a similar service -- has shown it takes several months for potential users to feel comfortable with that claim. In about six months, the department plans to review use, and analyze whether its worth the cost.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Posted by Brandie Jefferson  at 12:02 PM | Permalink

Comments

Post a comment

Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish.

Name:

Email Address:

URL:
Remember Me? YesNo

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)