Camden County Unveils New Emergency Alert System

The Camden County Board of Freeholders sent the following press release to Gloucester Township Patch:

The Camden County Office of Emergency Management is implementing a new emergency notification system that will keep residents informed in the event of an emergency.

“To provide residents with a reliable method of communication during an emergency, Camden County has selected Global Connect as our emergency notification service provider,” said Freeholder Rod Greco, liaison to the Camden County Department of Public Safety. “For regional consistency, this is the same provider used by surrounding counties that uses a phone number database to deliver a voice message to a targeted audience in times of emergency.”

Residents and businesses may visit the Camden County website and update the phone numbers they want used by the system to contact them by adding or deleting phone numbers for their home, office or cell phones. The information provided to the system by residents will remain confidential, and in the custody of the Camden County Office Emergency Management Agency and Global Connect. The information they provide will only be used for emergency notification purposes.

“Residents can visit the county website to select the means by which they would like to be notified in case of an emergency,” Greco said. “You may provide as many means of contact as you wish, so that we can connect with you in multiple ways during an emergency.”

The Camden County Freeholders approved this purchase in January to replace the previous system provided by Swiftreach Network. The installation of the system began last week.

“We are in the age of technology where nearly everyone can be reached instantaneously through cell phones,” said Greco. “This is a great way for us to reach out, in whatever way is most convenient, to notify you in cases of emergency.”

The Global Connect system is 100 percent Web-based, affording Camden County officials with the ability to message from any location, at any time of the day or night. As long as there is access to a telephone or computer with Internet access, the public can be notified no matter how extreme the emergency. It also provides the sender with notification if the message has been received, and gives the option to resend.

“This system, combined with our other emergency alert methods, is designed to get critical messages to the public, quickly and effectively,” Greco said. “This does not preclude you from calling 911 for emergencies; it simply provides an opportunity for the county to disseminate critical information if and when the need arises.”

To update your contact information, visit camdencounty.com and click on the icon for Global Connect.

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