The Bryan County Sheriff’s Office has responded to requests within the community to deliver news more efficiently.
The bureau has released an app that will allow residents to be more connected to issues and news within their community. Whether it be a major accident or a bad storm coming to the area, the mobile development will allow the office to reach their citizens faster.
“The thing I like about it most is it will send out push notifications to Facebook and Snapchat with the same message,” said Mark Crowe, Sheriff for the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office. “It will alert the user that they have a message.”
Credit: Photo by Latrice Williams
Credit: Photo by Latrice Williams
Crowe stressed the significance of those alerts, saying if a suspect is on the run in the area, residents will be notified immediately.
“Heaven forbid this happens but if someone escapes from jail, we can let everyone know there is a convict on the loose,” said Crowe. “It’s important because we can send out those notifications if someone gets loose in another county and comes to our county.”
Crowe said he hopes the app will generate interest in more complex issues, such as missing persons cases or unsolved homicides. People can submit tips anonymously.
“What we hope to do is generate interest in our cold cases,” said Crowe. “We want to bring those cases back to life. If you put the information out about it, it should jar someone’s memory. Information that comes through our tip line is completely offsite from the server that runs the app. You don’t have to submit your name, phone number or email.”
Crowe said he discovered the app after attending a vendor show.
“There are thousands of companies there wanting to sell you things,” said Crowe. “I decided to go ahead with it because folks in the community requested we get something to where we could get information out to them faster. It’s pretty easy to use. I could give it to my 3-year old granddaughter and she could probably use it.”
“Crime of opportunity” is a commonly used phrase within law enforcement. Crowe said being able to reach residents within a moment’s notice is imperative. In addition, people can email a staff member of their choice.
“That is going to be big for us,” said Crowe. “If you want to talk to someone in particular and you don’t have a way of contacting them, everyone’s email address for everyone that works for the sheriff’s office will be listed on there.”
The app will also list the sex offender registry and residents can pay their traffic citation. You can find it in the app store on your mobile device by typing in Bryan Co. Sheriff’s Office, Ga.
Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Bryan County Sheriff's Office releases new mobile app to provide community alerts
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