This article dealt with informing communities via local police websites so that citizens can be alerted about the most current threats; the program responsible for such communication is the E-Mail Alert System or EMAS. EMAS has so far only been adopted by two U.S. towns, but the results yielded are desirable, as the most promising story of success is that of a man being spotted circling children in his car. The man was reported to police, who put up a description of his car on their EMAS because he was registered as a Level 2 sex offender, and within thirty minutes, he was spotted again and later apprehended. EMAS has been proven affective because of its speed in which it reaches people, the quantity of people it alerts, and it targets the local community so its message is more direct. Also, the e-mails sent to the police using EMAS can be categorized into different levels of importance to be dealt with during appropriate times. The EMAS are also used to notify subscribers of non-threatening neighborhood affairs such as donations needed to help local schools or county sponsored programs such as police or fireman demonstrations or classes for the family. Altogether, EMAS give a sense of security and bonding for communities and even shopping centers as the subscribers know that their reports will be responded to by the police.
I think that EMAS are a great idea that should be adopted by more communities in more countries as it uses the latest technology to educate and protect the masses on a micro level. As EMAS are managed by the local police, this ensures that there will be professionalism with expected reaction time. I think that systems like EMAS will spread throughout the U.S. and hopefully other countries to help fight global crime.
Article originally on Google News by Constance Linder
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/11/12/taking_the_crime_watch_online?mode=PF
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