APD to Launch Crime Alert System

The Austin Police Department will soon have a new way of notifying residents when there is criminal activity in their neighborhood.
The crime alert system is called Citizen Observer and it allows APD employees to send out crime alerts to thousands of people by email and text message, all with the click of a mouse. Citizen Observer is a web-based tool that can also publish the alerts to Facebook, MySpace and Google Maps.

"It's like a social networking site, or social media site, it's something there, right when it happens," said Travis County Sheriff's spokesman Roger Wade.

Travis County started using Citizen Observer two years ago and investigators say they have already solved crimes as a result.

Residents can sign up for alerts by going to www.citizenobserver.com, submit contact information like name, email address and cell phone message, and then start receiving crime notifications.

The CEO of Citizen Observer says the alerts can be targeted geographically when that area faces a specific kind of threat, whether it's a sex offender, murder suspect, or a spike in break-ins.

Austin Police plan to launch their site in May. Training will start for employees next week.