Police emergency notifications move to new system

The Hawaiʻi Police Department is making it easier for residents to stay informed during emergencies.

Beginning today, July 15, all police emergency notifications will move from Nixle to the Everbridge system, the same platform already used by Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense.

Residents can now receive all their emergency alerts in one place, including updates about police activity, missing persons, road closures, severe weather, and natural disasters.

“Having a single source for emergency notifications helps our entire community stay safer,” said Police Chief Ben Moszkowicz. “We strongly encourage everyone to sign up so you’re prepared when an emergency happens.”

Signing up is free, quick and allows you to customize which alerts you want to receive—whether you prefer text messages, emails, or phone calls to a landline or mobile phone. When signing up for Everbridge, the system allows you to check one box for Civil Defense alerts and one box for police alerts.

Nixle subscribers will automatically be transferred to Everbridge and will not need to change anything to continue receiving alerts.

Those already subscribed to Everbridge from Civil Defense can log in and click on the box for the Hawaiʻi Police Department. Then, there is a choice for more specific notifications including:

• Missing people
• Missing children
• Runaways
• Police activity
• Road closures

Residents can sign up for both Hawaiʻi Police Department and Civil Defense alerts on the same webpage:

• Hawaiʻi Police Department: www.hawaiipolice.gov 
  • Click “Emails and Alerts”
• Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense: www.hawaiicounty.gov/civil-defense 
  • Click the “Alerts” tile

Signing up for Everbridge will help ensure readiness for emergencies. For questions, call Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense at (808) 935-0031.