Community Crime-Fighting Goes Cellular in the District

D.C. police have launched a citywide text messaging system to alert residents about crimes soon after they occur and ask for their help.

The system, known as D.C. Police Alert, offers a short recap of the crime, a description of the suspect and instructions to call 911 if they see anyone matching the description.

It also adds some prudent advice to any would-be hero: "Do not take action," the bulletin implores.

The alerts, which can also be received as e-mail, go out within hours of the crime, which beats waiting for a crime report at the monthly community meeting.

The system, pushed through by a local business owner, became available throughout the city Oct. 15. Business owners and business districts are considered the prime subscribers, although police expect individuals will sign up, too, which can be done at 72hours.dc.gov.

D.C. Police Alert represents a cultural shift in policing as police departments leverage consumer technology for official law enforcement use.

Of the 11 other cities and five counties in the region that have text alert notification systems, most use them for traffic and weather alerts, although they can be used for mass notifications in emergencies. The systems are part of a regional program that is funded by a federal homeland security grant, said Merni Fitzgerald, a spokeswoman for Fairfax County, which oversees the $820,000 grant.

The District is considered a regional leader in sending out alerts about specific crimes.

"Some may use it as a vehicle to send out crime information, but D.C. may be the only . . . jurisdiction that actually sends out crime text alert messages," Fitzgerald said.

As law enforcement agencies balance their normal duties with the added responsibilities of terrorism prevention since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, overburdened police are relying more on residents to be crime-fighting partners. Residents across the country are getting the message, literally.

Citizens of Boston, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Spartanburg, S.C., have received text messages about missing persons, purse snatchers, robberies, stolen Christmas lights -- even a missing iPod, said Terry Halsch, president of CitizenObserver.com, a Minnesota company that works in 37 states on crime text messaging. In these examples, he said, tipsters responded after reading the text message, and detectives solved the cases.

Sgt. Eric Franz , who manages a volunteer corps for the Cincinnati police, has seen the usefulness of crime messaging.