LAKE COUNTY — The Lake County Sheriff”s Office (LCSO) will utilize a new communications service, effective Aug. 17 that allows LCSO to send important, valuable community information directly to residents using the latest technology. The new service coincides with the remodel of the LCSO Web site, Lakesheriff.com. County of Lake Information Technology Specialist Cheryl Johns is credited with the Web site”s new design and improved functionality.
The Nixle Community Information Service allows us to create and publish messages to be delivered to subscribed residents instantly via cell phone text message and/or email. Notifications can also be accessed online at Nixle”s Web site at www.nixle.com.
Messages may include crime alerts, information about fires, missing person information, road closures and public advisories, as well as other relevant safety and community event information.
LCSO currently utilizes a system called “Citywatch” to deliver urgent advisories to residents. The program operates by using the 9-1-1 system database to send voice recorded messages. The program does not reach residents who use cell phones exclusively and may not reach residents who use Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP, or Internet based) phone services. The Citywatch system also does not differentiate between residents who want to receive notifications and those who don”t wish to receive them. The Nixle program allows the citizens the ability to control whether or not they get messages. The Citywatch system will still be used, but it will be only used for the most critical of notifications. Nixle will not replace Citywatch; it will serve to enhance the communications abilities already in place.
In today”s age of technology, LCSO is using this method to deliver fast, accurate and reliable information to the residents of Lake County. LCSO wants to provide an avenue of communication with the people served to be timely, effective and trusted.
The Nixle.com service is secure, reliable and free for the agency to use.
The messages can be sent specifically to residents registered within a variable radius, giving them the opportunity to receive trustworthy information relevant only to their neighborhood. Residents decide if they want to receive information. Subscribers can also choose the way alerts are received, whether it is by e-mail, text message, or over the Web.
There is no spam or hidden cost. Standard text messaging rates do apply.
Nixle builds on the foundations of other public-to-public communication services, such as Twitter, facebook, and MySpace, but adds a key component, security. When citizens receive information from LCSO via Nixle, they know it can be trusted.
Sheriff Rod Mitchell said, “Nixle allows the Sheriff”s Department to reach out to the community in new ways. It builds a communication structure that can help solve crimes, build safer communities and promote a positive partnership between the Sheriff”s Department and the community we serve.”
“Nixle is a first-of-its-kind tool for communities that need to provide critical information to their residents,” Craig Mitnick, founder and CEO, said. “In today”s world, you have to trust the source of your information. Residents of Lake County can rest easy that the local messages they receive are authentic.”
Residents of Lake County and those in neighboring communities can immediately begin receiving pertinent information via text message, e-mail, and Web by registering at www.nixle.com.
