Alaska State Troopers Announce New Statewide Alerts System

WASILLA — The Alaska State Troopers recently announced the launch of a new statewide alerting platform that goes online July 1.

This new system is designed to alert Alaskans to timely information regarding AST operations in their area, according to a recent press release from the Department of Public Safety.

Members of the public will be able to subscribe to email and SMS alerts issued by Troopers. Subscribers can customize their alert feed by region, including the Mat-Su Valley, Interior, Kenai Peninsula, Southeast, Kodiak, and Western Alaska. They can also subscribe to receive statewide missing persons bulletins whenever one is issued by the Alaska Missing Persons Clearinghouse.

This new system will provide alerts related to significant law enforcement activity in an area, evacuation information, missing persons bulletins, suspect information, and other timely alerts.

The current Nixle-based alerting capabilities will shut down June 30 to give way to the new system.

“While Nixle was a great partner for DPS over the last several years, our new alerting tool will provide us greater flexibility and capabilities and allow for growth into the future,” Alaska Department of Public Safety Commissioner James Cockrell stated in the press release.

The new alerting tool will be included in the statewide 511 system for road closures and traveler information, and the AKTips anonymous crime tip tool for submitting anonymous crime tips to law enforcement.

The State of Alaska will continue to utilize Amber Alert and Silver Alert systems in partnership with the Alaska Broadcasters Association and the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

“We are committed to providing Alaskans with timely information about our operations in their communities, and this new alerting tool will help us continue to meet that goal,” Cockrell stated in the press release.

Those interested in signing up for alerts through the new DPS alerts tool can do so online. Those that are currently subscribed to Nixle alerts will need to sign up for the new alerts system to continue to receive alerts after July 1.

For more information, visit alerts.dps.alaska.gov/subscribe.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com