The Riverton City Council on November 7th approved a contract with Everbridge, Inc. for emergency notification services within the city. Police Chief Eric Hurtado said he had used the service before. “It reaches the right people at the right time with the right message, text, audio or email,” he said.
In a memorandum to the council, Hurtado write that the “Riverton Police Department lacks the ability to send out immediate notifications when imminent and on-going incidents occur.” He said, “Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) services have the ability to distribute such public notification and assistance messages.” Hurtado said examples of these types of notifications include: Attempts to locate missing adults; Traffic accidents/roadway blockages; Major events; Attempts to locate persons or vehicle involved in recent criminal activity; and Localized notifications/evacuations.
One feature of the program that Hurtado said was attractive was a way to concentrate the notifications in specific areas of town or in specific neighborhoods. With a missing person, for instance, the chief said the notification could include a photo of the person being sought. He noted that the system would also push n otifications associated with regional Ashanti and Amber Alert systems.
The program is being funded for the first year with a $4,789 grant from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program. The program initial run is for three years with a cost to the city of $5,039.48 per year.
Hurtado said the system has already collected some 7,000 local phone numbers through public means, and that city residents would have the ability to subscribe to the notifications at a later time.