Early morning emergency alert calls notifying Cobb County residents of a missing person will now require a two-person consent after several residents complained about a call from last Wednesday.
The county sent out a CodeRED alert to landlines in a six-mile radius between midnight and 1:30 a.m. last Wednesday, notifying them that 12-year-old Marquise Jackson, an insulin-dependent diabetic, was missing. The automated calls shocked some residents who were unaware of the emergency notification system, and who also questioned the timing of the call.
Jackson was found around 2 a.m. Wednesday at a friend’s house, and the CodeRED alert did not factor into finding him, police said.
After the alert went out, a 911 operator was found to have violated the CodeRED policy by initiating the alert before getting consent from the county’s 911 manager.
Under the new policy, which takes effect immediately, between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., any alerts for missing persons must be requested by the police chief or designee to the 911 manager or designee, and both officials must consent to sending out the notification.
This will require both department executives to confer and consider the facts of the case and potential impact on the public in the notification area before the alert is sent out.
The new policy with the time restrictions applies only to missing person alerts, said Robert Quigley, Cobb County’s spokesman. All other notifications, including evacuation notices, can go out with approval from only the 911 manager.
Marietta resident Donna Lachance, who was among the residents to receive last Wednesday's alert, called the county's new policy a sensible decision.
"I actually wouldn't mind getting these calls, even in the middle of the night, if there was any indication that there was something we could do to help, or that there was an urgent need," she said. "... This last time, I just wondered why they couldn't have made those calls at a civilized hour, since the kid went missing in early afternoon."
Some of Lachance's friends opted out of the CodeRED database after last week, which Lachance thought was a mistake. "I generally support the way the Cobb Police Department uses technology to inform and involve citizens."
Cobb began using the CodeRED automated system in 2009, and has used it between four and five times a year to alert residents to news events, Quigley said.
Within the metro area, Fulton County recently purchased the CodeRED system and is still working on its usage policies. Fulton tested its system last month by sending residents in the city of Fairburn a message about the transition of services.
Clayton County and the city of Atlanta do not use an emergency alert system, instead relying on a mixture of media reports, Amber Alert child abduction notifications and the emergency broadcast system to get emergency messages out to the public.
Gwinnett County uses an automated system similar to CodeRED that also notifies residents to emergencies in a targeted area.
Cobb County residents can get a CodeRED without signing up; however, the program does not include unlisted numbers. Since last week’s notification, about 400 Cobb residents have opted to have their numbers removed from the CodeRED database.
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