The Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department and 911 Communications Center today announced it is now using Nixle to send important and timely public safety information to residents.

Nixle Connect allows the department to communicate with the public via text/SMS, e-mail, and Internet posts at no cost. Nixle will be used as the primary resource for distributing secure information to residents over the department’s web-based platforms.

Communications from the Kosciusko County Communication Center will range from emergency alerts to routine information including traffic advisories, missing persons reports, public safety announcements, press releases for high-profile cases, and other relevant information to Kosciusko County.

“Social media reaches deep into the daily lives of the public. It would be negligent for the county not to make use of this avenue to reach the people that we are empowered to serve,” said Kosciusko County Sheriff Rocky Goshert.

Kosciusko County 911 Communication Center Director David Rosenberry stated, “We searched to find the best method to deliver secure messages across multiple web-based platforms while maintaining our community’s need to rely on the credibility and authenticity of our transmissions. Our 911 Communication Center provides service to over 30 different police, fire and EMS services throughout Kosciusko County. Nixle was the obvious solution.”

Kosciusko County residents can sign up to receive free, real-time safety information by texting their zip code to 888777 or by visiting www.nixle.com. Once registered, users can customize the types of alerts they wish to receive via text, email, and online.

“The Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department strives to be a forward-thinking agency and we believe that having a secure presence in the social media arena will be a powerful tool that we can use to improve the situational awareness of our community,” continued Sheriff Goshert.

Currently more than 4,800 government agencies nationwide have adopted Nixle for their means of real-time communications with residents, and more than 700,000 citizens have signed up to take advantage of the service.

“Nixle simplifies communications between public safety officials and residents without compromising security,” stated Eric Liu, Nixle’s CEO. “Our service offers departments across the nation a tool to disseminate information quickly and easily across multiple channels, including social media. We are excited to welcome the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department and 911 Communication Center to Nixle.”

Nixle is strategically partnered with the National Law Enforcement Telecommunication System (Nlets) to offer the only public messaging service on the International Justice and Public Safety network, a system owned by the fifty states and serving every criminal justice agency in the US and Canada. Nixle is a privately held company based in San Francisco, CA.