SERVICES
The first Community Text Alert scheme to cover an entire local authority area was announced yesterday by Head of IS Carmel O’Hare at the Joint Policing Committee meeting. The scheme brings together the 26 local community alert and text alert groups which are active in parts of the county, and offers coverage for the first time to residents in parts of the county where no active community alert group exists.
The initiative is a result of a collaboration between the community alert groups, an Garda Síochána and Monaghan County Council, who have been working together for almost a year to find a better way to get messages out to the public quickly and cheaply. The new scheme simplifies the task for the Gardai, who were experiencing problems with messages not getting through their ‘Pulse’ IT system. It also removes much of the administrative burden on the local group, which can focus its energy instead on delivering crime prevention projects in the area. Monaghan County Council is covering the cost of the messages sent out to subscribers.
Members of the public can join the new service for FREE. You can opt to receive messages to a device such as a smartphone via App or email, or you can opt to receive the more conventional Text Alert to your mobile phone.
The new service replaces the existing Text Alert services around the county. If you currently subscribe to a local Text Alert service, you will be contacted shortly by your local group to be assisted to set up to receive alerts from the new service. The new service is also open to new subscribers, who can join by downloading the App or by returning the sign-up form.
To find out more about the new service, and how to sign up, follow this link: