I was fortunate enough to get to do a ride along with the Police Chief of a local community last week.  We spent three hours together riding in a patrol car.  We answered several 911 calls and made a traffic stop of someone who blew through a red light.

It was all very interesting to me, and I enjoyed the opportunity to see what police work looks like from the vantage point of a patrol officer!.  It’s NOTHING like what you may see in the movies or on the TV show “COPS”.

In addition to learning about routine community policing, I also learned that most police agencies are moving towards the use of social media tools to communicate with the community.  The tool that is in use in my community is Nixle.  I had no idea that such a tool was available until the Chief told me about it.

You can access it via computer or smart phone, and there are apps for both the iPhone and Android platforms.  You can get the app for iOS here and for Android here.

Once you install the app and register, any Alerts, Advisories, and Informational messages that your Police department or other Public Safety department want you to know about are immediately pushed out to you.  It can also be used by schools, and recently the company added a Business function that could be used by businesses to reach all of their employees at once.

Here is a short blurb from Nixle that can better explain their service:

Nixle is a Community Information Service dedicated to helping you stay connected to the information that matters most to you, depending on your physical location. You stay connected to your local police department, your children’s schools, your local community agencies and organizations, and the important information from other locations throughout the country that are relevant to you. Our service is built on the most secure, reliable, and high-speed distribution platform, ensuring that you receive trusted and immediate, geographically relevant information. Information is immediately available over your cell phone by text message, by email, and over the web. Your account can be customized so you receive the information that matters most to you. Whether it is where you live, work, or have friends or family throughout the country, the information is immediately available to you over your mobile phone, email and computer.

I am telling you about this as I think it is something that you could be telling your clients about.  It could turn out to be a life saver for them in the event of a natural or other disaster.

Go check it out and pass it along as you see fit.  Who knows, it may be the little tool that puts you in touch with someone just as they need an agent!  And, yes, it is FREE!

This is only available for US telephones as of this writing.