Perry County Sheriff's Department launches email, text message alert system

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The Perry County Sheriff's Department now has a system in place to "deliver timely, relevant public safety information" to county residents using e-mail and text messages, according to a news release from the sheriff's department.

The department is using a service from the company Nixle LLC. The service is free to those signing up, but standard cell phone text messaging rates apply. Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf said in the news release the department will be able to send alerts for weather and road conditions, special alerts about missing people and other public safety information.

The service can target messages geographically, allowing users to receive "neighborhood-level" information, according to the news release. Users can sign up at www.nixle.com.

Schaaf said the service can help police in their work by alerting the public in certain targeted areas to information concerning suspects being sought or other relevant information.