Pawtucket Times (Rhode Island)
PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- The city is ready to reach out and touch you. And it plans to do so again and again.
Mayor James Doyle unveiled the Reverse 911 system Thursday, a computer system that will let officials call every home in the city.
The system will allow the city to send out thousands of calls an hour, notifying city residents of closed schools, parking bans, lost children or approaching storms.
“Right now, we have the only system in Rhode Island,” said Police Major John Whiting, who has helped oversee the installation of the program. “In fact, there are very few of these in New England. The technology is very new.”
Reverse 911 is an automated dialing system that is coupled with computer mapping programs. It will let the city quickly call out to every home or to target homes in specific neighborhoods.
“It will be a real asset,” Whiting said. “When we had the mill fire, for instance, if we had this online, we could have called everyone in that neighborhood to tell them what was happening or to tell them to get out.
“I can also see where we can use it as part of the Megan’s Law. We are required to notify residents when certain sexual offenders move into the neighborhood.
“This could be part of our posting.”
The Reverse 911 equipment was purchased through federal grants and installed during the fall by Detective Steven Allcock, the department´s computer guru.
It has eight telephone lines dedicated to it, allowing the city to send out 960 calls an hour.
The software will allow city officials to record their own messages. Those receiving the calls will be able to chose a preferred language.
“Everything that is put out over the Reverse 911 would also be posted in other ways,” Whiting said. “This would be an addition.”
The system will also be available to other city departments.
Whiting said he expected the system to be used when the highway department closes streets, for instance, or when a broken water pipe is expected to flood a neighborhood with rusty water. If a broken boiler closes a school early, the system will be employed to let all the parents know.
“We will demonstrate this for all the city department heads,” Whiting said. “We´ll be asking them for suggestions.”
The system is running now. It will be put into use when the city receives the compact discs from Verizon, giving officials all of the telephone numbers in the city.
“People in the city will be hearing from us soon,” Whiting said.