Herndon Police become the first law enforcement agency in the country on Monday to implement the Silent Partner Alert.
"The Silent Partner Alert system will enable the police department to quickly send valuable public safety information to the community," said Herndon Police Chief Toussaint Summers.
The system is a public safety community broadcast tool which allows police to broadcast important information to Herndon residents and non-residents via e-mail, text pager, cell phone e-mail or PDA, Sgt. Amos said.
The technology will allow participating community watchdogs to selectively choose which types of incidents they want to be alerted about by police. Participants can sign up for categories ranging from terror warnings to road closures. The information broadcast is the same information sent to media outlets.
On the first day of operation, more than 300 people had already signed up for the program. "Everyone so far has signed up for the terror warnings," Amos said.
To find out more information or to sign up for the system, visit the Town of Herndon Web site at www.town.herndon.va.us, and click on what's new.