Sign up for crime alerts & community messages from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office

April 16, 2010 (Minneapolis) – The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office has launched a new community information service designed to deliver important and timely information to residents throughout the county.

The service, Nixle, delivers public safety and community event notifications sent directly to you. You choose how you want to receive the information, whether it is over your cell phone by text message, by email, or over the web.

The Sheriff’s Office may send messages to subscribers for a variety of reasons; to alert residents about emergencies or criminal activity, to provide educational tips about public safety, or to offer residents information about Sheriff’s Office community events.

For example, if a child or vulnerable adult is missing, an alert could be sent to people who subscribe to Nixle throughout the county. The alert may include a picture of the missing person or a map identifying the area where they were last seen. Another message may contain information about an opportunity to volunteer for the Sheriff’s Office. Subscribers decide which categories of messages they would like to receive.

“This system allows residents to take a proactive role in their own safety,” said Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek, “Our advisories may notify residents of a crime spree in their neighborhood and provide crime prevention tips.”

Register now and learn more at www.nixle.com. Please share this subscription information with your neighbors or friends in the community. Nixle is available at no cost to the Sheriff’s Office and it is available at no cost to you. Standard text message rates apply for cell phone subscribers who do not have text plans with their cell phone providers.

How to subscribe
1) Go to www.nixle.com. Click on the green button, “Residents Sign Up Now.”

2) Enter a street address.

3) Click on the large SETTINGS tab in the upper right hand of the screen.

4) Next to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, there’s a drop-down menu. In order to receive the most messages, select, “Advisories, Traffic, Community.”

5) The site allows you to unsubscribe at any time.

More than 3000 law enforcement and government agencies are using Nixle nationwide.