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TextBecome a Fan: Stay Informed
Fairfax County Police Department
Public Information Office
4100 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, Va. 22030
703-246-2253. TTY 703-204-2264. Fax 703-246-4253
FCPD-PIO@fairfaxcounty.gov
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police
News Release: 10/109/LHC
April 19, 2010
Become a Fan: Stay Informed
The Fairfax County Police Department is launching new outreach tools; a Facebook Fan page and a new police emergency alert network. The Department encourages the public to help keep their families and neighborhoods safer by staying informed and aware.
Coordinated by the Police Public Information Office, the agency launched a fan page on the social networking site juggernaut, Facebook on April 7. A variety of police information and announcements have been posted everyday since. So far, over 500 residents have joined the group. With over 400 million Facebook users nationwide, the networking site enables users to stay better connected to friends and the communities where they work and live. There is no cost to join Facebook, but to become a fan users must sign up at http://www.facebook.com/fairfaxcountypolice.
In partnership with the County’s Office of Emergency Management, the public is also invited to sign up to receive police alerts on a variety of their electronic devices. A new public safety category on the Community Emergency Alert Network (CEAN) enables the police to send geographically targeted alerts, to include timely information on significant criminal incidents in neighborhoods and important announcements. There is no cost to sign up to receive the alerts and residents may sign up at https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/cean/. New users may register using several addresses, such as their home, work, child’s school or any others that may be of interest to them. Existing users may sign up for police alerts by editing their current profiles. Most police alerts will occur within minutes of an incident. Initial details of a criminal incident can be difficult to determine; follow-up messages of clarification may be necessary. Police ask that the public not take action on their own but to call 9-1-1, or follow the message’s instruction, if they have vital information to report.
For more information on the police department, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police. Visitors are encouraged to visit the newsroom page to receive news releases via email and view police department YouTube videos. A newly designed television show about the police department “On the Beat” may be viewed on demand from the site as well.
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