Community Notification System Working Well

The Van Police Department’s recently launched community notification service called Nixle, has been used several times this past week to alert citizens to such events as a man threatening school officials and warning of traffic accidents.

The system is designed to improve communication with people who live, work and visit the Van area.

Smith said the system provides a quick, efficient, and secure way to get neighborhood-level information out to community members who subscribe to the service.

He said that the service has been used several times since it has been implemented in the city.

"We have used it many times since its implementation and it is working well for us. We have been able to keep the community informed of a number of situations as they have happened.," said Smith.

Smith said that obviously, the system will be most effective with a large number of subscribers. He encourages all citizens to spread the word about the use of the system.

"Another added bonus of the system is that the city could potentially win a $10,000 award if we have the most number of subscribers per capita," said Smith.

"All you have to do is go to nixle.com to subscribe. You will be walked through the steps for setup," said Smith.

Smith said that there is no spam or advertising associated with Nixle Municipal Wire messages and the system is free (standard text message rates apply for subscribers who do not have text plans with their cell phone providers).

For questions regarding the system, please call the Van Police Department at 903-963-5222.