CARBONDALE, Ill. (WSIL) -- A new resource for the city of Carbondale is getting information out faster for residents.
Carbondale's new alert system went online last month and focuses on sending out safety-related alerts. Carbondale Police handle the alerts according to Chief Stan Reno.
Reno says most of the alerts will deal with safety issues such as traffic crashes or road blocks. The alerts will be sent out based on the situation, Reno says.
On Sunday an alert went out as a shooting broke out on Grand Avenue. A second alert saying 'there was no longer a threat' was sent out 15 minutes later.
Reno said they could be used in the future to ask residents for information about crimes. For now the department plans to meet expectations and send out emergency alerts as quickly as possible.
"It's our job to try to process the information as quickly as we can but we're always going to go ahead and push the information out and then correct if we need to as we move forward," Reno said.
Chief Reno says the goal is to get the most accurate information out as fast as possible so that people can create quicker decisions.
"We don't want to create panic or scare anyone however we want people to be informed about what's happening," Reno said.
People can sign up for text or email alerts on the city's .
