Public Safety Agencies Team Up with Google's Crisis Response Team

SAN FRANCISCO, April 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- To help keep the public safe and informed during community-wide emergencies, local police and fire alerts from Nixle are now integrated into Google's Public Alerts platform, a service that delivers relevant emergency information across Google Search, Google Maps, and Google Now. This partnership will provide the public with accurate safety information when and where it matters most, helping to increase communications between local authorities and their residents.

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"Google Public Alerts provides people with information about how to respond in emergency situations," said Jonathan Betz, engineering manager for Google Crisis Response. "Nixle enables local response agencies to get that information into the community as quickly as possible. We're very excited to bring Nixle's local alerting and response information to the Google Public Alerts platform."

Nixle is the most widely used public safety communications platform in the country, with more than 6,500 police, fire, and emergency management agencies sending text, email, and phone alerts to their residents through a secure network. Together, Nixle and Google's Crisis Response team will use the power of web and open data standards to make this information more widely available.

"Whether it's natural disasters, violent crimes, or missing children alerts, keeping communities safe is critical for public safety agencies such as ours," said Police Chief Charlie Beck of the LAPD.  "Thanks to Google and Nixle, we now have more ways to communicate critical information to our communities."

Public safety agencies interested in learning more about this partnership and its benefits can visit www.nixle.com/google. Residents can subscribe to receive Nixle alerts directly to their cell phones and emails by simply texting their zip code to 888777, or by also visiting www.nixle.com/google.

Founded in 2007, San Francisco-based Nixle builds technologies that enable effective communication and collaboration between more than 6,500 public safety agencies, their school districts, and the communities they serve.  Nixle's secure platform of text message, email, and voice notifications connects residents to their local leaders so important and relevant information can be shared when it matters most.  Additionally, Nixle helps mobilize those communities to take an active role in public safety, with the goal of helping government agencies engage their citizens successfully.

SOURCE Nixle