Information regarding criminals on the loose or sex offenders in your neighborhood can now be sent to your cellular devices. Van Buren Police have a new way to keep their community safe. Alerts can now be sent to phone when it comes to public safety.
Detective Jonathan Wear with the Vanburen Police Department, said the new system will allow police to send out alerts via text message or email much quicker than previous resources.
Wear said residents can register online here.
Once on the site click on sign up to receive alerts, then enter a telephone number, email address and zip code. Press enter and you're done.
To sign up for the text messages; send a message to 888777 and send VANBURENPD, one word, to the number. Residents will receive a text message confirmation after it is sent.
The new system has been up and running since Wednesday and so far several hundred people have signed up.
"200 hundred responses over the last 24 hours. Right now we have about 350 citizens that are signed up for it right now," said Wear.
Wear said they are expecting several hundred more to sign up.
One resident said "it's a lot of kids and elderly people in my area and so I would like to be able to look out for them and if there is something I could do I would absolutely like to be the one to help out."