Princeton Borough Council is considering the implementation of a phone alert system that will spread information quickly among local residents in the event of an emergency.
The system would be used in situations where important news or instructions must be disseminated to residents in a short period of time.
"In terms of getting information out to people, it's a great tool," said Princeton Borough Police Chief Charles Davall, who is directing emergency management planning in the Borough. "It could be used in criminal situations as well as health situations."
Though the system has been under consideration for months, the issue has gained momentum in recent weeks in the wake of concerns surrounding the terrorist attacks and anthrax incidents, according to Davall.
"We're looking at things differently since Sept. 11," Davall said. "We had looked at this more than a year ago and we decided then that police could make notifications themselves. We could blanket the town within a day.
"[Now] we can't guarantee we would have police officers to every house in the city within a day," he added.
The system is already up and running in Princeton Township and is awaiting the Borough Council's official decision.
"Princeton Township has bought it and hopes to share the cost with the Borough," said Davall.
Davall described the phone alert system as a "reverse-911 system," in which thousands of houses could be notified in a very short period of time.
"We would use it in emergencies, similar to the flood we had a couple of years ago during Hurricane Floyd," he said. In that situation, Borough Police officers went door-to-door, warning residents of contaminated drinking water.
But while the new system would allow police to issue warnings to residents quickly and easily, the cost of the project might prevent its implementation.
"It's an expensive system," Davall said. The private company that the Township has commissioned charges on an annual and per-use basis, in addition to a startup fee.
"Right now, we're balancing costs versus needs," he added.
Another concern could be the administration and maintenance of the system.
"There's also a management issue [of] who controls it, who says when it's used, when it's not used," Davall said.
If the council decides to adopt the system, however, it would not be difficult to implement in the Borough because the Township has already adopted it.
"For the Borough, it's only a phone call away," Davall said.
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