Manitoba RCMP launch direct notification system pilot project

Manitoba RCMP are launching a pilot project to test a new public-safety alert system that can send direct notifications to several communities, including three from the Southeast.

The new system will send alerts from local RCMP detachments by text messages, phone calls or email to residents who register for the optional program, using software from U.S.-based Rave Mobile Safety.

Starting on May 21, detachments in Norway House, Thompson, Dauphin, Winnipegosis, Beausejour and Oakbank, Morris and Emerson and Ste Rose will have access to the service. The pilot project will run for three months and be evaluated on whether to expand to all of Manitoba’s detachments.

The system will send alerts regarding public safety advisories, requests for public assistance, missing persons, traffic or road conditions, crime prevention and other community updates.

Cpl. Terry Sundell, of the Manitoba RCMP’s community engagement services unit, said the system won’t replace 911 or the provincial Alert Ready system, which sends emergency notices, and instead compliments existing communication channels, such as social media and news releases.

“It just adds one more tool to help us communicate with people in a time of need, or to make them aware of something that is recent and relevant and important for them to know,” he said in a May 21 interview.

To send notifications through the provincial alerting systems, such as Amber Alerts, it must meet the threshold of an “imminent threat against someone’s safety,” Sundell said.

Having access to rapid messaging for situations that don’t meet the provincial notice criteria, such as break and enters, can help the public become more informed, he said.

The pilot project adapts existing software already used for internal RCMP communication to send the alerts and doesn’t require any additional funding, he said. Other jurisdictions, such as Alberta RCMP, already use the same technology to voluntarily alert locals who sign up, Sundell said.

The messages will be “very brief, very direct and very needs-based” when compared to the current Mountie social media posts, he said.

“The more people that sign up in the system, the stronger the system itself is because the system does need users to be on that list,” Sundell said. “It’s just like social media, if you only have a couple of followers, you’re just not going to reach as much of an audience.”

The selected detachments were chosen to offer a range of different areas throughout the province when assessing the pilot project, he said.

Adding another communications channel can get “extra eyes and ears on criminal activity,” said David Carlson , reeve for the Rural Municipality of Emerson-Franklin. He was pleased to see Emerson as one of the first trial sites, he said.

“I think it makes the citizens feel like they’re a little more included in a bit of the crime fighting.”

There are multiple Facebook community groups related to Emerson-Franklin and other regions that discuss local crime and post pictures of suspicious activity. Carlson said having more direct RCMP communication will be helpful as an additional source of credible information besides what’s posted on online forums. He said he hopes residents “get on board” with the program.

Town of Morris Mayor Scott Crick also applauded the new system. He said public awareness is the best way to reduce crime.

“Having this direct line between our detachment and our residents will be very beneficial for crime prevention and our community’s safety,” he said in a text message to The Carillon.