Police Unveil New Communication Tools to Better Reach The Public

WEST LINN - Using nixle.com and twitter.com In an attempt to better communicate with our residents, the West Linn Police Department has begun using two on-line services; Nixle.com and the more commonly known Twitter.com. Nixle.com is an online information service that provides accurate, trusted, and secure communications from the Police Department as well as City Hall. This service provides geographically targeted information to users via cell phones and email. This tool allows us to reach out to the community in a very efficient and safe manner with no cost to either the City or the community. How does Nixle work? Residents simply sign onto www.Nixle.com and register. When you register you set your preferences on how and when you receive updates from Nixle. Nixle can be used for emergency messaging such as flood information, hazardous materials incidents, or other crises. It allows the Police Department to send out alerts for emergency information such as road closures, community information including the 789JAM Dance information, as well as community events where officers will be present. Nixle has four categories of information: 'Alert' for emergencies, 'Urgent' for non-emergency important information, 'Traffic' for traffic and road closure information, and 'Community' for general purpose information. When a resident signs up for Nixle they can tailor the types and ways information is sent out to them. The West Linn Police Department also has a Twitter page - @WLPDNews. Residents may follow information on this site and it is also free. Typically the information we publish on Twitter (or tweet) has to do with a spike in specific types of crime. Our last tweet was to inform residents of a series of car break-ins in the Willamette and Cascade Summit neighborhoods. We will also be using it to notify residents of road closure incidents or other major issues from the Police Department. The West Linn Police Department also sends out press releases through a commercial service linked to our Twitter page. If you follow us on Twitter you would get the release as well. "Our goal with these services is to make the process of informing our community more efficient" said Sergeant Neil Hennelly "It is important to reach out and inform our community and this looks to be a great way to do that." #### Contact Info: Sgt. Neil Hennelly @ 503-655-6214 ext 4498