February 22, 2010 :: Community

Chicago Police Announce New Technology Initiatives to Alert

For Immediate Release - Chicago Police Department

January 31, 2010

Chicago Police Announce New Technology Initiatives to Alert
Residents with Public Safety Information and Use Social Media Tools

CHICAGO – Superintendent Jody P. Weis introduced the Chicago Police Department's
latest ventures into technology, discussing a new public safety alert strategy and the use of
social media tools to enhance communication between police officers and residents.

Nixle, an alert notification system which sends messages to registered subscribers, now will be
used to send public safety information to individuals via email or text messages. Residents
will have the opportunity to receive by cell phone and Web-enabled device the most recent
updates about critical situations affecting the City. The Nixle system is secure and ensures
subscribers' information is protected and that messages are authentic.

To begin, Chicago Police will issue community and business alerts, missing person alerts,
Amber Alerts for the Cook County area, CAPS beat meeting information and relevant news
releases to subscribers. Individuals can register by visiting the Chicago Police Department's
CLEARpath Web site at www.chicagopolice.org and establishing themselves as Nixle users.

"Nixle is a clear example of our push to utilize technology to communicate with residents and
Chicago Police Department members," said Superintendent Jody P. Weis.

"This ability to give information so quickly will effectively help citizens stay more safe and aware, while engaging people to think about what they know that will help our officers better resolve crime and community concerns," he added.

In addition to the Nixle alert service, Superintendent Weis highlighted the Department's
Facebook page, which will be updated with news and information on the Chicago Police. At
present, the Department's page has more than 6,800 fans.

Superintendent Weis also discussed Blog 501, created for the direct exchange of ideas
between Weis and Department members. While only Chicago Police members can post
messages at this site, the comments can be viewed by the general public and accessed at the
Department's CLEARpath site at www.chicagopolice.org. Blog 501 has logged more than
95,000 hits.

###