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Downey Police launched crime and community notification alerts to residents through new service

Launched in August, Downey Police Department began to use Nixle community notification service program for residents and community members of the city of Downey and surrounding areas.

Known as the social media tool for police, Nixle notification service is designed to deliver timely and important information to community members through technology such as text messaging, email, web and mobile application.

The Nixle application is available on Apple products and is free download. Users subscribed to Nixle will get alerts about crime and community events in the area that the user lives in and subscribes to. Photo by: Alicia Edquist
The Nixle application is available on Apple products and is free download. Users subscribed to Nixle will get alerts about crime and community events in the area that the user lives in and subscribes to. Photo by: Alicia Edquist

Residents are encouraged to sign up for the free notification service through Nixle.

In just minutes, residents can sign up for mobile alerts by sending a simple text message with “DOWNEYPD” to 888777 and user is signed up instantly for those critical alerts and community safety and event information.

The police department is using this service to notify its users of public safety information and community events.

Police departments throughout the country have turned to using Nixle for various purposes such as sending real-time alerts to residents when a crime is in progress, traffic issues and missing children.

There are others ways to sign up for Nixle service, individuals can register for free at www.nixle.com and choose whether to receive alerts as a text message, email, a notification on the Nixle smartphone app or to view it online.

Another added feature to signing up for Nixle service is that subscribers also have the ability to register for multiple locations, such as agencies within the area of one’s residence or work.

Subscribers can subscribe to not only Downey but surrounding cities that use the Nixle service to communicate with their communities. Photo by: Alicia Edquist
Subscribers can subscribe to not only Downey but surrounding cities that use the Nixle service to communicate with their communities. Photo by: Alicia Edquist

Other cities in the area that use Nixle and you can sign up for alert notifications include Norwalk, Cerritos, Lakewood, Pico Rivera Sheriff stations, and the Bell Gardens and South Gate police departments.

Note that standard text messaging rates will apply for subscribers who choose to receive text alerts and do not have text plans with their cell phone providers.

There is no spam or advertising associated with Nixle messages.

My name is Alicia Edquist, and I am a multimedia educator and journalist. I have a Masters of Arts degree in New Media Journalism at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla. I work in Journalism & Media Studies department at a local community college in Southern California. I have my AA degree in journalism with a bachelor’s of science in Christian Ministry.

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