Police Launch Public Notification Service

The Van Police Department recently launched a new community notification service called Nixle to improve communication with people who live, work and visit our area.

The system provides a quick, efficient, and secure way to get neighborhood-level information out to community members who subscribe to the service.

Van Police Chief Kelly Smith said that the service was used Tuesday to alert residents to closed roads.

"We had to close several roads due to high water. We sent out an alert and subscribers were instantly notified by email and text," said Smith.

Smith said that all of Van’s volunteer firemen and police officers are now subscribers

"We can also use the system for information regarding missing persons including being able to send a photo of that person to subscribers," said Smith.

"We could use it in a man hunt situation, for example, to put citizens on alert," said Smith.

Smith said that obviously, the system will be most effective with a large number of subscribers. He encourages all citizens to spread the word about the use of the system.

"All you have to do is go to nixle.com to subscribe. You will be walked through the steps for setup," said Smith.

Smith said that there is no spam or advertising associated with Nixle Municipal Wire messages and the system is free (standard text message rates apply for subscribers who do not have text plans with their cell phone providers).

For questions regarding the system, please call the Van Police Department at 903-963-5222.