Crime & Safety

Police Offer Up-to-Minute Reports Via New Service

Learn About Traffic Jams, Construction Detours, Parking Bans, Upcoming Events and Lost Children Through Text Messages and E-Mails

Wish you knew about a traffic jam before you drove into it?

That knowledge, as well as learning about construction detours, upcoming community events, parking bans and missing children, are a few clicks away.

The Fairfield Police Department on Wednesday advised residents that they can receive real-time, non-emergency alerts from the department through e-mails or text messages by signing up at www.nixle.com. The service is free to the department and residents, though standard text messaging rates would apply.

Find out what's happening in Fairfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"The key is we have a lot of information and we're always looking for more ways to get it out so people can be safer and have more knowledge of what's going on in town," said Police Chief Gary MacNamara. "The big thing now is our ability of mass notification, and we're always trying to look for better and newer ways of accomplishing that."

The alerts residents can receive through www.nixle.com are different from alerts sent out by the department's Reverse 911 system, MacNamara said. "Reverse 911, we're not going to utilize for anything other than a true emergency," he said.

Find out what's happening in Fairfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Residents don't have to sign up for the Reverse 911 system - the department automatically sends out emergency recordings to land lines unless people opt out of receiving them - but they would have to sign up to receive non-emergency alerts, MacNamara said.

Police Sgt. Sue Lussier, a department spokesman, said www.nixle.com includes maps that show where events and traffic backups are taking place and also can be used to advise residents if burglaries are concentrated in a particular area of town.

Residents can choose how and when they're notified of non-emergency alerts. They would be able to decline alerts late at night or early in the morning, MacNamara said.

Residents wouldn't be able to communicate back to the department by replying to the e-mails or text messages, MacNamara said.

Westport Police and Bridgeport Police also now use www.nixle.com, MacNamara said.


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