Why No Text Alert System In Darien?

DARIEN, IL – Darien has declined to pay for a text alert system for residents, saying Twitter is just as effective and costs nothing.

That has drawn criticism from resident Brian Liedtke, who used to sit on city committees and is a member of the Center Cass School District 66 board.

Liedtke said text alerts are more effective, saying other towns use such systems to notify the public of incidents.

"Why (does the) city feel Twitter works best for Darien and why does Darien feel they know better than all the surrounding towns who use a text message alert system, when evidence clearly shows text message responses are more reliable and easier for the end user?" Liedtke said in a text message to Patch on Wednesday.

He said analytics show that half of Twitter followers are low-quality or bot accounts. City officials, he said, should not use what is easiest for the police, but what is most effective and convenient for residents.

In an email to Patch, Police Chief Greg Thomas said the city had the Nixle messaging service in 2016 for a year's free trial.

But when it was time to buy it, the city went with Twitter, the chief said.

If the city had stuck with Nixle, it would have cost about $5,000 each year, he said. Nixle and Twitter have no functionality differences, he said.

The police department, Thomas said, has researched area towns and found they use social media, messaging services or both to inform the public of accidents, burglaries, robberies or other incidents involving a large police presence.

Like Darien, two area departments use only Twitter for such notifications, he said.

"Just because others are doing something else doesn’t make it right or wrong, just how it works best for that particular jurisdiction," Thomas said.

According to the police department, it had 384 registered users with Nixle in 2016. The department now has 2,300 followers on Twitter.

Liedtke said Darien struggles to keep up with emerging trends and technology.

"How did they promote Nixle to the community to get people to sign up? Also, the world has significantly changed since 2016 as well," Liedtke said.

He said messaging services have served police departments well in Burr Ridge, Downers Grove, Naperville and Lemont, among others.

"(B)ut Darien somehow knows better," he said.