protecting ourselves

http://www. nolacrimealerts. com/

NOLA Crime Alerts
NOLA SMS Crime Alert Network PDF Print E-mail
Saturday, 24 January 2009 18:31

WHY:

One night soon after the tragic murder of Wendy Byrnes in the French Quarter, a friend of Wendy's was mugged in the Marigny. Concerned friends sent out text messages to others warning them of the specific area to avoid and to be careful in general - and urging everyone to pass the message along. Ten copies of the same text message and three phone calls later, the idea to set up an SMS Crime Alert Network was born, with the intention of warning as many people as possible of recent and/or in-progress crimes without inundating anyone with multiple copies of the same message.


WHAT:

An SMS (text message) based Crime Alert notification network allowing community members to warn other community members of recent and/or in-progress crimes. Timely warnings will help community members steer clear of "hot spots", alert people of suspicious characters to watch out for, help track stolen vehicles and other items and further track crimes. Unfortunately the public officials in New Orleans have not seen fit to properly address the severe crime problem in New Orleans, and while the Crime Alert Network does not address the roots of this problem, it is our hope that the network will help keep people a little bit safer, provide the community with all too often unreported details of crimes, and provide an independent log of crimes that occur in our city. copy of all SMS Crime Alerts will be forwarded to NOPD and a multitude of other public officials on a weekly basis and will also be archived on this website.


HOW:

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Sign up to send and receive SMS (text) Crime Alerts on your cell phone for areas of the city you live/work/play in (sign up links below). While you will be able to receive messages immediately, please allow up to 24 hours before you are able to post.

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If you are the victim of or witness to a crime, SMS the appropriate neighborhood group with pertinent information by texting 68398 (add the number to your address book to keep it handy!) and starting the body of the message with the # symbol. Tatango, the SMS service utilized, will send back a message prompting you to select which group you would like to send your message to.

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Before sending an SMS, please make sure one has not already been sent for the particular crime, only send another SMS if you have additional useful information to add.

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Be as specific as possible - time, location, description of crime and perpetrator(s) - any and all information that will help others from becoming a victim of the same crime/criminal and/or help catch the criminals or retrieve stolen property.
However, It is very important to refrain from posting specific personal/identifying information (exact address, names, phone numbers), and please refrain from editorializing!
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A short, all-age appropriate ad will follow all posts - these are placed by Tatango and allow the Crime Alert Network to remain free. The only costs to the end user will be whatever charges your cell phone service normally charges you for sending and receiving text messages.

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We will be adding additional neighborhood groups, but would prefer them to be user suggested rather than try to figure out appropriate subdivisions for areas of the city we (the creators of the network) do not personally live in. To request a group, please send an email to admin@nolacrimealerts.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .


TERMS:

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Posting alerts repeating already posted information and/or posting specific personal/identifying information will result in loss of posting privileges, though you will still be able to receive alerts.

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This network is for Crime Alerts ONLY! Posting ANYTHING off-topic will result in loss of posting privileges.
This is very important!

SIGN UP FOR GROUPS:

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French Quarter: Send a text to 68398 with JOIN8338M in the body of the message from your cellphone, or follow this link: http://tatango. com/join/8338-MzODAuN
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Holy Cross: Send a text to 68398 with JOIN8408Q in the body of the message from your cellphone, or follow this link: http://tatango. com/join/8408-QwODAuN
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Lakeview: Send a text to 68398 with JOIN8406Q in the body of the message from your cellphone, or follow this link: http://tatango. com/join/8406-QwNjAuO
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Marigny/Bywater: Send a text to 68398 with JOIN8337M in the body of the message from your cellphone, or follow this link: http://tatango. com/join/8337-MzNzAuM
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Mid City: Send a text to 68398 with JOIN8404Q in the body of the message from your cellphone, or follow this link: http://tatango. com/join/8404-QwNDAuM



The network and this website are a work in progress, please bear with us as we grow and feel free to send any and all suggestions to admin@nolacrimealerts.com