Grosse Pointe Police Join Nixle Alert System

Sgt. Mike Almeranti is manning an account for his department on Nixle, a free community alert system that allows public safety officers to keep residents informed about crimes, road hazards or other urgent matters via text message or email.

The service is intended to allow law enforcement to get the word out to the community in urgent situations, such as if police were looking for a suspect in a kidnapping or to let residents know if a rash of burglaries or other crimes are happening in a certain area of town. 

, and Harper Woods already use Nixle. In addition to the public safety alerts about crime or accidents, .

To sign up to receive the alerts, visit Nixle's website, www.nixle.com.

Almeranti said he suggested using the service after he discovered its existance a few months ago. He believes it is a useful tool for officers to use to keep in touch with residents.

Since the service is free to public safety agencies, Almeranti suggested it to the City's new director Stephen Poloni, and received approval. For now, Almeranti is essentially the only person in the department with access to send alerts and updates but he said that is likely to change as more of the department learns about how to use the system. 

In the few months the City has been on Nixle, Almeranti has used it mostly to alert residents about car break-ins and thefts. The most recent alert, sent earlier this week, reminded residents to remove their valuables from their vehicles even when it will be a short amount of time to ensure they are not stolen. 

Grosse Pointe Shores' new public safety director John Schulte said he is looking into possibly using Nixle as well. Some residents have asked for such notifications since the burglary of a Belle Meade home during the holidays.