Beachwood Has It Right With Community Notifications

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Check out this article from the Cleveland Blog, that discusses how residents of Beachwood will now be informed through emails, tweets and texts about road closings, delays and any other updates that might affect their day to day routine. This is exactly what Cleveland Heights needs! Let's make it happen.

BEACHWOOD -- Residents in and near the Beachwood area can now be informed about road closings, delays and more by texting or tweeting Beachwood police.

Two weeks ago, Beachwood police acquired a Twitter account to inform residents and those close by about police-related happenings in the city. So far, police have “tweeted” about a bank robbery, Richmond Road construction and delays related to The Gathering Place’s “Race for the Place” event.

“We had the reverse 911, which is outdated technology because people don’t wait for messages on their phone,” said Beachwood Police Chief Mark Sechrist.

Sechrist said the department was looking for a process to send text messages and later found out about Twitter. Now, individuals have the option of following the department at BeachwoodPolice on Twitter or texting “Follow BeachwoodPolice” to 40404 to receive updates.

He said dozens have started to follow the department on Twitter already and many others have used the texting procedure.

“I envision that if enough people follow it, maybe six months later it might become a better tool. The more people, the better the tool,” Sechrist said.

Read more at Cleveland Blog