Newton Police Department Launches New Communications Service

The following is a press release issued by the Newton Police Department:

The Newton Police Department in conjunction with the Mayor’s Crime Prevention Commission, are announcing a new tool that will enable residents to receive important information.

The Newton police Department will utilize a new communications service, effective October 24, 2011 that allows us to send important, valuable community information directly to residents using the latest technology.

The Nixle Community Information Service allows the police 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-related matters as well as other relevant safety and community event information.

According to Lieutenant Bruce M. Apotheker, the service is secure, reliable and easy to use for our group.

The messages can be sent specifically to residents registered within a 1⁄4 mile radius, giving them the opportunity to receive trustworthy information relevant only to their neighborhood. Residents decide from which local agencies they want to receive information. Subscribers can also choose the way in which alerts are received, whether it is by email, text message, or over the web.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 our agency via Nixle, they know it can be trusted.

Residents of Newton and those in neighboring communities can immediately begin receiving pertinent information via text message, email, and web by registering at www.nixle.com.

We are very excited to have you experience it for yourself.