The Lansdale Borough Police Department is considering upgrading their immediate notification system, in an effort to efficiently notify the public of immediate threats to their safety.
The system, called the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), would utilize cellular service to alert residents to potential threats, in a similar manner to the Amber Alert system. During a recent public safety meeting, Lansdale Borough Police Chief Michael Trail stated that the system works by dropping a pin onto a map, and that within seven-and-a-half seconds, the police department could notify 26,000 people via an alert to their phone.
“This is an exciting program, and that’s not just the nerd in me telling you that,” said Garry Herbert, mayor of Lansdale Borough. “It’s an instant communication device that allows us to work with people in an emergency situation via their cellphones.”
Herbert mentioned that the system is suggested by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and could be used in situations such as active shooters, dangerous weather, large fires and train derailments.
Currently, the borough police department utilizes a free service called Nixle, though IPAWS would represent a substantial upgrade, according to Trail. That upgrade would cost roughly $2,100 per year, according to Trail, though it would come out of the police department’s $340,000 discretionary fund.
