New Jersey residents will now be able to receive critical information from the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) and the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management (NJOEM) on their cell phones and PDA’s with the use of a free, web-based service.

The NJSP and NJOEM will be using a service called Nixle Connect to deliver important and time sensitive information to the residents of New Jersey. Nixle Connect is an application that allows verified government agencies to communicate with the public via text/SMS, e-mail, and Internet posts. This service is provided at no cost to the department, taxpayers, or residents and unlike other social media applications, Nixle does not contain any 3rd party advertisements.

Messages from the State Police would include reports of missing persons (including AMBER Alerts), traffic incidents with extended delays, crime information, safety tips, community outreach programs, and other public safety information.

NJOEM will use Nixle to disseminate information regarding large scale emergencies and disasters, evacuations, and to amplify emergency messages from county or federal emergency management partners when necessary.

“We are excited to use Nixle as part of our comprehensive communication strategy,” commented Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police and Director of the NJ Office of Emergency Management. “This service allows us to send real-time information directly to the public in critical situations. Whether it’s a natural disaster alert or a missing child advisory, we can now reach New Jersey residents wherever they may be.”

The power of this application is increased as more people register. New Jersey residents can register to receive messages by sending a text message with their zip code to 888777 (data rates may apply depending on your plan). Online registration is also available at www.nixle.com.

“We are proud to have the New Jersey State Police choose Nixle.” stated Eric Liu, Nixle CEO. “With the addition of Nixle, their department is better equipped to serve the eight million residents of the state of New Jersey. When a disaster strikes, there is no better tool to disseminate potentially life saving information to the public than Nixle.”

More than 4,800 government agencies throughout the United States use Nixle to communicate with residents via SMS mobile text messaging, email, the Web, and mobile applications. Over 700,000 citizens use the system. Nixle is strategically partnered with NLETS to offer the only public messaging service on the International Justice and Public Safety network, a system owned by the fifty states and serving every criminal justice agency in the US and Canada. Nixle is a privately held company based in San Francisco, CA.

For more information, visit www.njsp.org or www.nixle.com.

(YWN Desk – NYC)