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N.E.W.S. - Neighborhood Early Warning System
Sponsored by: Greater Harris County 9-1-1 Emergency Network
What
is it? |
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An emergency
notification system available for participating jurisdictions
to notify citizens of an emergency situation. |
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Participating jurisdictions
are not required to use N.E.W.S. |
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Additional tool available
to jurisdictions for the protection of their citizens and not
in lieu of other existing tools. |
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Who Can Activate N.E.W.S? |
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All participating
jurisdictions served by GHC 9-1-1 |
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Two Counties – Harris
and Fort Bend
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49 cities |
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Why is it called N.E.W.S.? |
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Neighborhood
Early Warning System |
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Designed for small notifications.
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5,000 – 15,000
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To avoid overloading the
public switch telephone network it is understood and agreed
by jurisdictions that no single launch will be asked to exceed
20,000 calls.
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Smaller groups may be recommend.
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Unique Features of N.E.W.S. |
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The GHC 9-1-1
N.E.W.S system utilizes its own database (of phone records)which
is constantly monitored and updated daily.
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Not phone book records
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Citizens do not have to subscribe
to the service.
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Where are Activations Launched? |
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When is N.E.W.S Activated? |
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EMERGENCIES ONLY!
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Determination of an emergency
is made by each participating jurisdiction.
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However, the jurisdictions
are strongly encouraged to strictly adhere to the “emergency-use-only” requirement.
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Over utilization of NEWS
could result in a lack of attention and response by residents
who receive numerous calls.
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Examples of Activation Emergencies |
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Chemical Release
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Lost or Abducted Child |
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Explosion |
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Natural Gas Leak |
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Dangerous Suspect in Certain
Area |
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Any Missing Person (no activation
fee) |
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Activations of N.E.W.S. |
An area can
be notified based on
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Determined polygon
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A pre-plan
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An intersection and specified
radius
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An address and specified
radius.
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Messages are 30 seconds in
length not to exceed 60 seconds.
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Prerecorded message or scenario
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Text to speech capability. |
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“THIS IS AN EMERGENCY MESSAGE.
A CHEMICAL SPILL HAS OCCURRED IN YOUR AREA. YOU ARE INSTRUCTED
TO SHELTER IN PLACE AND TUNE TO AM RADIO STATION 740 FOR FURTHER
DETAILS. |
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Number of Rings
and Retries
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An unsuccessful call will be re-tried
according to the number of attempts set by each jurisdiction. |
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All system rings and re-tries are
determined by the participating jurisdiction’s NEWS Administrator |
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Caller ID
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Public Safety Emergency or another identifier
will show on the caller ID?with the exception of those who have
caller ID blocked. |
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How much does it cost? |
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GHC 9-1-1 covers
the overall cost for maintenance, licensing, monthly recurring
connectivity charges, database updates.
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A participating jurisdiction
that activates N.E.W.S. will be charged $.10 per call for a
completed call.
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A completed call -voice communication
path is established.
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full notification to a person |
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a partial notification to a person |
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a full notification to an answering machine or
voice mail system |
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or a partial notification to an answering machine
or voice mail system. |
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All MISSING
PERSON activation fees are waived.
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Other unique features |
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Other languages
(recorded made by jurisdictions)
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Reporting Capabilities
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Internal system available
to contact jurisdictional personnel. Many jurisdictions are
already utilizing this.
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i.e. SWAT, etc. |
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