Emergency workers occasionally alert people in a specific geographic area to significant police events, expanding fires, or dangerous weather conditions. Since 1993, some municipalities used a system called Reverse 911 to notify residents via phone. However, that system historically relied on landline telephones tied to a physical address, and very few people still use that service. Only a quarter of American homes have a landline, and just 15% of renters use anything other than cell phones. Consequently, during a substantial police response in Montavilla earlier this month, several residents reported being unaware of the shelter-in-place order enacted by the Portland Police Bureau. Although a system exists to notify residents via cell phone, it requires most residents to register at publicalerts.org before receiving texts, emails, or calls about potential danger.
PublicAlerts is a region-wide website for residents to request alerts about situations in their area. It centralizes registration for Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, and Washington counties in Oregon. The site also supports Clark County residents in Washington State. However, alerts do not blanket all registered users. The service uses each account holder’s self-reported address to localize communications based on the warning’s scope. Dozens of local fire departments, public health systems, utility companies, transportation agencies, and law enforcement use this system to notify residents. It is a flexible system that lets users specify a preferred communication type but requires registering to access its features. It also places responsibility for maintaining accurate information on individuals. However, the system allows an account holder to register several addresses, including a work location, making it useful throughout the day.
Registration with PublicAlerts is free, and the service does not use data shared during signup for tracking or advertising. The government-provided service relies on third parties to manage the alert system’s underlying technologies, but those companies are contractually obligated to keep personal information confidential and only use it for the intended purpose. This new program replaces the 1993 style of Reverse 911 service with one better designed for how people communicate 30 years later, but it requires most people to opt-in, potentially limiting its reach.
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management ran the system for other counties. Each county has its own system just with a unified signup site.
Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account. We invite those who can contribute to this local news source to consider becoming paid subscribers or sponsors. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.