BY JOSH CHESLER | SEPTEMBER 25, 2013
Free Cave Creek citizen notification system
CAVE CREEK – Citizens of Cave Creek can now be alerted as soon as a crime in their area occurs thanks to a new notification system provided by the Marshal’s Office. Residents who sign up for the free email-based announcements are notified about nearby crimes, missing persons alerts and even helpful safety tips related to incidents going on in the town.
The online system was put into effect in March and has been used for everything from alerting owners to be on the lookout for specific cars or suspects in cases of burglary to finding the owner of a horse that was seen wandering down the street. The notifications are particularly useful in more rural neighborhoods, as it can inform everyone in the area if an incident happens in a relatively unpopulated area without police having to go to each home just to spread the word.
Cave Creek’s Marshal, Adam Stein, thinks the “email blast system” has made a big difference in how the community gets its news. “We mainly use it to give people a heads up,” said Stein, “I think it gets a lot of people in the loop.”
The email notification system is the second alert method used by the Marshal’s Office to provide important information specifically local to Cave Creek to its residents.
The “CodeRed system” is an emergency alert system that contacts the town’s citizens by telephone when a local emergency occurs. CodeRed, which was put into place in 2005 after the Cave Creek Complex fire caused nearby evacuations, will call or text any number in its database within a five-mile radius of a specific neighborhood.
While the newer email notifications provide a wide variety of information to Cave Creek’s residents, CodeRed focuses on emergencies in need of immediate attention as well as severe weather warnings such as flash floods and severe thunderstorms.
