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Porter County Sheriff's Department Citizen Observer

Porter County Sheriff’s Department

Alert Network

Instantaneous and proactive

communication from local law

enforcement to you

The Alert Network allows the Porter

County Sheriff's Department to instantly

update you about crimes, emergencies

and other important information.

All Alerts are delivered via e-mail and are

also available via text message on your

cell phone.

Anonymous communication

between the public and local law

enforcement

Possibly the biggest benefit of the

network is the way it makes possible

two-way communication between law

enforcement and the public.

As we the public learn about fugitives,

missing persons and unsolved cases, we

can provide anonymous tips via text

message or the web directly to the

agency.

There is no need to sign up for alerts to

text a tip.

Sign Up For Alerts

Help create a stronger community by signing

up to receive alerts. It’s easy!!

1. Go to:

www.citizenobserver.com/registration.jsp

2. Fill out the form and you’re done …

then spread the word and invite your

neighbors to join.

3. Please note that CitizenObserver is a

secure website and protects your

privacy. For more details, please review

the CitizenObserver privacy policy.

Text an Anonymous Tip

Here’s how to send your anonymous tip via

text message.

1. Text “PCTIPS” and your message to

847411 (tip411).

2. Porter County Sheriff’s Dept. may

reply to your message asking for

additional information.

3. Text “STOP” to end the dialogue

MEDIA RELEASE Date: June 24, 2010

Sheriff David Lain announces New Community Safety Initiatives

VALPARAISO, IND.- The Porter County Sheriff’s Department is launching The Porter County Alert Network, a new interactive way to keep the community connected and informed through opt-in e-mail, text message, Facebook and web published public safety alerts.

The new initiative will also allow the public to report suspicious activities easily through the Tip411 anonymous text messaging code. More details can be found about the code later in the press release.

Interested persons, schools, community groups and businesses can sign up for The Porter County Alert Network for free via a dedicated Web page link on the Porter County Sheriff’s Department Web site; portercountysheriff.com. Through this Web site, the Porter County Sheriff’s Department will provide information to help maintain and improve community safety.

Subscribers can sign up to receive alerts from the Police Department via e-mail or as a text message to a cell phone. They can also opt to receive neighborhood only or city wide alerts, as well as surrounding city alerts that are on the Citizen Observer alert system.

The other component of this new technology is the Tip411 program. The program will allow the public to submit anonymous tips to the Police Department via text messaging. While this is not a replacement for dialing 911 in an emergency, this technology will allow interested persons to communicate potentially helpful information.

The tipster simply texts ‘pctips’ to 847-411 (tip411) with their message. When police receive the message, they can respond to the tipster who will continue to remain anonymous. The Porter County Sheriff’s Department has no way to access the identity of the individual reporting the information. Citizens may also submit anonymous web tips through the system at www.citizenobserver.com. This program will be go into effect on July 1^st.

For questions about the Alert Network, please contact Lieutenant Eckert at 219-477-3000, or go to our web site, portercountysheriff.com and click on the CITEZEN OBSERVER link.

Sheriff Lain will be hosting a community meeting to discuss this program and introduce a neighborhood based safety initiative. The community meeting will take place July 1^st at 6 p.m. at Ivy Tech College located at 3100 Ivy Tech Drive in Valparaiso.