Havre police may get cellphone alert system

Havre police may soon have an alert system that will enable them to instantaneously warn people of an emergency on their cellphones..

Police Chief Gabe Matosich told City Council Monday night that he is talking to providers and working on ways to fund the project.

Matosich said the system could have been used in warning people about the prisoner who escaped Fort Belknap police custody in Havre last month.

Under the system he is studying, people would not have to subscribe to the service, the alert would automatically reach anyone in the city limits.

For instance, he said, people visiting from Florida would get a warning if there was a serious fire and they should avoid a certain part of town.

National Weather Service already has a service like that, he said. During the July 4 tornado alert, people received urgent warnings that they should take cover.

An alert could be issued, he said, if a neighborhood had to be evacuated for some reason. People in that neighborhood would be advised to leave, and residents in the rest of the city would be aware of what’s going on.

The alerts make a loud noise that is easily distinguishable from a normal telephone alert.

In a separate matter, Matosich said, officers will take part in Shop With a Cop on Dec. 21.

Ten kids will take part. They will arrive at the police station at 8 a.m. for a light breakfast.

They will be taken via North Central Montana Transit to Walmart, where they will shop with officers. At noon, they will head to Pizza Hut for lunch, then back to the police station to wrap their gifts.