Ventura County Sheriff's Department

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department has launched a new website (same Internet address: www.vcsd.org) that is designed to be more interactive with frequently updated content and accomplished, in part, through the use of popular social networking mediums such as YouTube, Twitter, and Nixle.

New features include an embedded YouTube window on the home page along with a Nixle/Twitter Newswire, scrolling photo gallery, and Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) display. The Nixle/Twitter Newswire displays press releases and other important department communication. These same messages are capable of being pushed to smart phones and other hand-held mobile devices to individuals who register with those services. The CAD display refreshes every 60 seconds and allows anyone to view the majority of patrol activity occurring within the Sheriff’s jurisdiction while providing a short time delay for safety and security considerations.

The website also provides statistical crime data for the department’s jurisdictions and has many links to important resources such as inmate information, Crime Stoppers, and REVERSE 911®. The department intends to enhance the capabilities of the website over time and plans to add features in the future such as Crime/Arrest Logs and Google maps. Visitors to the website are encouraged to provide feedback, which will be used to aid in decision making for enhancements in the future. There is a link to the feedback page at the bottom of the homepage.

In conjunction with the launch of the new website, the Sheriff’s Department would like to encourage all interested members of the public to strongly consider taking advantage of new and exciting technology available to facilitate public safety communication. This includes the use of Nixle and registering your mobile phone with REVERSE 911®.

NIXLE
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department is currently using Nixle as its primary community networking application. It is a free information exchange medium that provides communities throughout the country with news and information that is both proximate and personally relevant. Nixle enables highly granular, location-specific information to be immediately available to users, depending on their physical location at any given time. Nixle makes this information instantly available over web, mobile, and smart phone devices, both in text and email format. Nixle also allows for photographs and location technology such as Google maps to enhance the effectiveness of messages.

The Sheriff’s Department may use Nixle to distribute emergency information (such as evacuation locations), press releases, and other significant news. Press releases and all other information distributed through Nixle are set to automatically forward to Twitter so that Sheriff’s Twitter followers receive the same information. To access the department’s Nixle page on the Internet, go to: http://local.nixle.com/ventura-county-sheriffs-department/. That page also has a link to sign up for a free account.

Nixle will be the Sheriff’s primary distribution method for web-based and mobile phone messaging. However, it is not intended to replace or supplement REVERSE 911®, which is the primary emergency mass notification system employed by the department for highly critical information dissemination.

REVERSE 911®
The Sheriff’s Department has been using REVERSE 911® since June 2008. The system can be used to deliver alerts when there is a threat to the public health or safety of residents in the cities of Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, and the unincorporated areas of Ventura County. Other cities in the county have opted to use other notification systems. The REVERSE 911® database currently contains both listed and unlisted landline phone numbers for AT&T and Verizon customers. However mobile phone numbers must be registered to receive alerts for the above locations.

To register a mobile phone number for the Sheriff’s REVERSE 911® system, go to the bottom of the homepage of the Sheriff’s new website and click on the REVERSE 911® icon.

Unit Responsible: Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, Administration
Officer Preparing Release: Captain Ross Bonfiglio (805) 654-2417