Jeannette police will start using a new system to share information directly with the public.
Council approved a $2,000 contract with Crime Watch Technologies. Under the 1-year agreement, the police department will be able to publicly share information while bypassing the need to post it on multiple platforms or deal with commenters on social media channels.
“I can disseminate all of the information with the push of one button,” said Chief Shannon Binda.
Information can be about a variety of things, including arrests, minor crimes or if police are seeking a suspect, he said. All posts will go to a department Facebook page, as well as crimewatchpa.com , where anyone can sign up to receive alert notifications.
Binda said the department will go through training and he hopes to have the system in operation within the next month or so. He believes Jeannette will be the first municipal police department in Westmoreland County to use the system.
Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta at 724-837-5374, rsignorini@tribweb.com or via Twitter @byrenatta.
