A policy change related to overnight procedures is coming to Hall County's mass notification system following the recent recovery of a young boy who was the subject of a missing child alert.
Moving forward, text or email notifications related to non-life-threatening situations, and which are to be sent between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., will only be issued to county residents who have voluntarily opted-in to the Hall County Citizen's Alert System.
County officials said in a media release that although the child was found safe several hours after the alert was issued early Tuesday morning, resident feedback related to the current use of overnight notifications prompted a change in policy.
"We are happy to report that our system worked as it was supposed to, and the child in this instance was located," Hall County Emergency Management Agency Director David Kimbrell said. "However, we are constantly evaluating how the notification system could be used more effectively in these types of situations and will now tailor its alerts to be received by those who are most likely to utilize them overnight."
Under the new policy, Kimbrell said residents who were automatically subscribed to the system by way of the the county's 9-1-1 landline database will no longer be notified overnight, "unless the notification involves a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning, or other life-threatening situation that would affect a large group of citizens."
"This way," Kimbrell continued, "those that are awake will receive the message via text or email without causing a disruption to those who are asleep during those hours."
Hall County 9-1-1 Director Gail Lane said approximately 45,000 residents and/or businesses have been added to the system's database so far.
"The ability to reach all residents quickly during an emergency in order to warn them and provide guidance is critical to upholding our commitment to protecting citizens from any danger that threatens our community," she said.
According to the release, the Citizen's Alert System alerts residents through a variety of contact mechanisms, including cell phone, landline, email and text messaging.
The online tool, launched in February 2012, notifies residents of a number of issues, including severe weather, fires, floods, toxic environmental issues and in-process violent crimes. It can also be used by residents to receive information about other important activities, such as road closures and water utility maintenance.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2017/5/542146/hall-co-changing-mass-notification-system-in-light-of-recent-missing-child-alert