San Francisco

Police Agencies Partner With Nixle For Real-time Alerts for Super Bowl 50

As Bronco and Panther fans head to the Bay Area, excite for Super Bowl 50 is building, as are concerns over traffic and safety. Now football fans and local residents have a way to receive real-time alerts about the big game. All you have to do is send a text message.

Police agencies have partnered with Nixle, a free notification service, to send out special alerts just for the Super Bowl.

Text “SB50” to 888-777 and opt in to receive traffic and safety alerts related to the game, according to Santa Clara Police Lt. Kurt Clarke. He says out-of-towners and locals can find out about Super Bowl-specific incidents as they happen.

“We’re very excited. We have over a thousand followers who have opted in to receive alerts, so we’re rearing to go,” Lt. Clarke said.

After the teams were decided on Sunday, SB50 subscribership almost doubled to 2,000. Those subscribers will begin receiving messages about VTA and Caltrain schedules on Monday, according to Captain Jeffrey Hunter with Sunnyvale’s Department of Public Safety.

“It could be anything from major traffic information to major event occurring around Super Bowl-related activities,” Capt. Hunter said.

Police departments from San Francisco to San Jose have also partnered up to push critical information through the messaging system. They only have to notify the Bay Area Joint Information Center.

“People coming from Denver or Carolina to attend the Super Bowl that aren’t familiar with our area, and they don’t need to subscribe to our typical resident Nixle. They can subscribe to this and be informed,” Capt. Hunter said.

The SB50 Nixle alert system is mainly to push out alerts, says Capt. Hunter; however if there’s a suspect police are looking for, they may send out a description to subscribers to see if anyone has any tips.

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