The app allows the public to submit tips, search for information about offenders and get the latest news about road closures and weather conditions. A host of other helpful links in the app connect users to everything from ATV maps to grief support and victim services.
The Chippewa County Sheriff's Office app replaces an app previously used by the office that officials said did not provide enough bang for its buck.
Emergency management director Tyler Thibodeaux has worked on the app with Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes since October 2023.
Thibodeaux and Hakes said the app has Integrated Public Alert & Warning System capabilities that allow the emergency management division of the sheriff's office to send out public warnings.
The county had some issues with such alerts in October 2023 when Chippewa County residents received a series of emergency alerts on their phones during a downtown barricade situation.
As the event unfolded, Chippewa Falls police requested that Chippewa County Emergency Management send out an alert specific to cell phones in the area telling people to shelter in place.
Chippewa Falls police later said that the shelter in place order was disseminated too broadly, sometimes to people in towns many miles away.
In addition, not all alerts sent out included necessary geographic information to inform residents about which areas to avoid and not every resident that was intended to received all three emergency safety alerts that afternoon.
Hakes said the incident was a catalyst for showing the office needed to revisit the system it had in place.
One of the goals with the new sheriff's office app is to ensure people receive emergency alerts and instructions properly and appropriately, Hakes said.
"I guess the moral of the story is it just gives us multiple opportunities to reach out and put out public safety information quickly," Thibodeaux said.
Emergency alerts
Thibodeaux is especially excited about the ability to send push notifications using the app.
"The alert just goes to people if they have it enabled on their phone," Thibodeaux said.
But the app has another notification capability. Authorities can use it to put out what are called IPAWS alerts.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency website, IPAWS is a national alert system that provides authenticated emergency and life-saving information to the public through mobile phones.
IPAWS can send messages to everybody in a geographic area, whether or not they have notifications turned on in the app.
Hakes wanted an app developer that could handle IPAWS messaging, he said.
The company that programmed the new sheriff's office app called OCV LLC is one of the leaders in mobile app development for law enforcement, public safety, emergency management and public health agencies.
OVC public safety adviser Jim Finnell said the IPAWS portal is separate from the app, but OCV offers them both to the county as a package deal.
"IPAWS is a FEMA program for mass notification, and it evolved after the (Congressional) 9/11 Commission many years ago about doing mass notifications," Finnell said. "The federal government has spent years working with all the telecommunications providers to be able to send out mass notification of an event or a disaster to a very specific geographic area, like Chippewa County."
Finnell said the connection to IPAWS is far more user-friendly than reverse 911 programs officials used to rely on.
"The users have the ability to get alerts directly and almost immediately from the sheriff's department and emergency management if they have the app," Finnell said. "Of all the things, that's really nice, especially for the agencies to do outreach."
Finnell said the app is also helpful for people who want to track if there are warrants out or if someone is in jail.
He said it saves the agency a ton of phone calls because users can just go on their app and look up information. They can also submit tips.
"Victims can get notifications that someone's been released, they can sign up for it on their phone," he said. "They can schedule visitation at the jail. It just automates and puts the control directly at the constituent's fingertips."
Thibodeaux and Hakes said having IPAWS capabilities is a big deal.
"We are the very first organization in the nation that this company has worked with FEMA on," Hakes said. "We actually were their pilot program."
Hakes said OCV works with more than 450 sheriff's offices across the country and over 800 other law enforcement departments.
"We're the first one in the nation to piggyback that IPAWS feature with emergency management," Hakes said.
New app brings new users
Hakes and Thibodeaux agree the app is working, delivering more streamlined and accessible information to the public and providing a new method for the community to reach county officials and the lifesaving information their offices provide.
"I recently had an email from somebody in the community that reached out through the app that asked about suicide prevention information, and you know, we put more information about that on the app," Hakes said. "It's nice to be able to do that. Overall, the departments that we work with across the road have given us positive feedback."
Criminal justice services director Rose Baier said she's a fan of the new app.
"I'm actually using it on the back end, I guess, just as a collaboration, partnering with the sheriff. It's been really helpful that way with the departments in the county," Baier said.
Baier oversees a number of programs for the county. She said the organization of the sheriff's office app is helpful to her in the field.
"One thing for me that's just a really helpful tool, is I track the pre-trial status of individuals, people that are in and out of jail. So it's a very handy tool, especially on the phone, to use instead of logging into the computer and getting onto the website to see who's in the current population in the jail," she said.
The Chippewa County Sheriff's Office reports that in its entire history, only 86 people downloaded the old Code Red app, which was live for the last few years.
Last year, OCV representatives attended the Badger State Sheriff's Conference and pitched the idea of a new app to Hakes.
"It wasn't something that we were going to budget for, right? So when we first heard about it, there was kind of sticker shock," Hakes said. "Then we realized that the app we had wasn't operating as efficiently as it should have been."
The office spent $10,000 per year to maintain the old app, according to Hakes.
"I'm not real great at math and I'm not an accountant, but I don't think our cost-benefit analysis came back in our favor with only 86 downloads with the old app," he said.
The new app is a bit more expensive year over year. But with good reason, Hakes said.
"It's actually a really good app," Hakes said.
The new app costs $25,000 for the first two years, Hakes said. But it's already paying off. Although it's only been live for a handful of weeks, it has had 1,816 users as of Aug. 15.
"We are able to apply for grants and things, too, so even though it's costing a little bit more per year, probably in the long run, we are able to fund it from different sources so it frees up tax money in the budget," Hakes said. "We're not paying for it with tax levy money from the county. It's for the taxpayers, but they're not paying for it currently."
Thibodeaux said eventually the sheriff's office may have to use tax funds to maintain the app.
The Chippewa County Sheriff's Office app is available for Android and Apple products.
The app is not for reporting emergencies. In an emergency, residents are encouraged to call 911.
© 2024 The Chippewa Herald, Chippewa Falls, Wisc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
