Volume 3, No. 10 January 24, 2003
SPD links people with SCAN By Gene Friedman The Savannah Police Department recently inaugurated an exciting new program to enhance the safety and security of the community. The Savannah Community Alert Network uses a structured e-mail network to assist in the apprehension of criminals, find lost children, report crime trends, solicit citizen assistance, and disseminate important information to the community. Basically, any information that affects the safety of Savannah residents can be rapidly disseminated among the subscribers on the network. An example of what SCAN might put out is a warning about a pattern of crimes in a particular neighborhood. Similarly, if information regarding a serious incident or other important issue had to be quickly circulated, the police would use SCAN either alone or in conjunction with other media. Through the network, the community would be rapidly informed and would be able to take protective measures until the subject(s) were caught. Conversely, the police could advise that a particular rumor racing through the neighborhood was not true. The network could quickly reach everyone concerned and reduce the anxiety that these false rumors unnecessarily cause. The network has other benefits, such as providing an avenue to share common interests and concerns among people within the same neighborhood or even with those on the opposite side of town. Community members are encouraged to share any information which would enhance the safety of their community by e-mailing the SCAN coordinator. The coordinator will then transmit this information to network subscribers. SCAN is not, however, intended as a replacement for other, formal police information channels. Emergencies should always be reported immediately by dialing 911. The police also will continue to inform the public about issues of interest through TV, radio and in newspapers, as they have in the past. To implement this program, SPD has been providing computers to those citizens who want to participate but who don’t have a computer. SCAD actually jumpstarted this program with the donation of a number of computers to SPD. However, more computers are still needed. The request for computer donations in the "What’s the Buzz?" section of The Campus Chronicle resulted in several responses from the SCAD community. David Kennerly, director of operations at Savannah Cinema Post, was the first person to respond to this appeal. He donated a computer, complete with a bubble jet printer, to SCAN. Other offers were received from student Sarah Zaiden, photography professor Steven Mosch, and foundation studies professor Yuki Hirao. These donations were warmly welcomed by SPD as the computers are an absolute necessity in the community-wide effort to prevent crime. Donations of any functioning computer equipment are still welcome. If you want to participate or have any questions regarding SCAN, call 525-4500. Friedman is the director of campus safety and is the registered SCAN subscriber for SCAD. Any information received that would affect safety or be of interest to the campus community is posted on the Campus Community Alerts link at the campus safety Web site.
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