Have U Received this Police Alert???

[Kathleen]

5:20 AM call from Santa Fe Regional Police, recorded message. "Major incident occurred, stay home, at least one suspect on the loose, armed and dangerous."

Called 911 to verify with police. Had to pick up friend to drop off at local airport, alert and armed with spray and non ammo weapon.

Called dispatch after I returned. Situation not resolved. Will receive network call when resolved.

Dispatch not permitted to give details on "major incident". Brings to mind mall shootings and such.

Anyone ever receive a network police alert like this? We have problems here all the time.

If the police are truly looking out for us I appreciate the call.

Would there be any other purpose in telling a large area of the city to stay home?

While this does not pertain to van dwelling per se, I think it is an important issue to consider.

 

[wagoneer]

What? Never have received any alert ever.

 

[tx2sturgis]

What likely happened is that you received an alert thru the WEA (wireless emergency alerts) segment of the IPAWS (integrated public alert and warning system)

Its a fancy system put in place by our government to alert ALL citizens on ALL cellphones in a given area about very dangerous conditions like floods, fires, active shooters, tornadoes, hurricanes, bombs, whatever.

It's a bit like the old days of listening to Civil Defense frequencies on old AM radios...but nobody does that anymore!

 

[Kathleen]

Thx for that info but no, it came in on my landline. Never got an alert like that before. Just received two recordings, saying there was a homicide, now under control, safe to go out now.

 

[MrNoodly]

My phone once rang with an Amber Alert. And once I got a severe storm warning.

 

[Dgorila1]

It's the reverse 911 ability that many cities have now. Used for community alerts, emergencies, etc.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I had re-read your post while composing my response and went back to edit my reply so that is why my answer changed after you quoted my previous reply...sorry, my fault....and yeah the IPAWS system can (I believe) use landlines too.

 

[Kathleen]

Thanks, Brian. Have now received 2 calls, same msg, a homicide occurred, suspect apprehended, safe to go out now.

Technology is advancing. When a murder took place 3 doors from my house (and I live in a "good" neighborhood) there was no such call. But that was 2 yrs ago.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Here is a short video that explains how Big Brother is taking care of us:


https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20151218-1629-2732-9003/IPAWSwebNEW.mp4

 

[Kathleen]

Watched. My feelings: true protection of public=good thing.

Inappropriate control of public=negative.

I wanted forum members feedback.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Technology is advancing. When a murder took place 3 doors from my house (and I live in a "good" neighborhood) there was no such call. But that was 2 yrs ago.

Many years ago I was sitting here in my favorite chair at home, at night, when I heard 4 gunshots ring out.

I had no idea where they were coming from or what or who they were aimed at!

I grabbed my loaded 357 magnum revolver which is right next to me on a shelf, turned out all the lights, and peeked out a couple of windows.

I heard yelling and screaming across the street, so I walked out the BACK door, circled around thru the trees and bushes, and saw, right across the street, several people standing over a young girl and her baby!

Turns out the girl was shot in her shoulder while holding the baby, by her 17 year old boyfriend who (I found out later) had ordered her to have the pregnancy aborted.

The P.O.S. young scumbag was shooting at the baby, but the girl turned to protect the infant in her arms, and saved the child!

The three other shots hit the house, only one bullet connected with the girl, the baby was fine.

This punk was SO cowardly he was shooting from his car in the street, with a small pistol of some kind.

The police and ambulance arrived in about a half a minute...this neighborhood was lit up with a dozen cop cars flashing red-n-blues for most of the evening. The cops later found this loser at his moms house, crying like a little baby...

The girl recovered, the infant was fine, and the idiot really messed up his life, now serving a long sentence in prison, last I heard.

This is an average blue-collar neighborhood, just regular folks, and pretty stable families, so you never know when or where something like this will happen!

 

[tx2sturgis]

I wanted forum members feedback.

Ok...sorry...

:dodgy:

 

[TrainChaser]

As Dgorila said, it's a Reverse-911 call, to let you know of local dangers. I have received two of them in the last several years, the first when the nearby river was flooding enough to be a danger, and another just the other day when two felons escaped from a 'correction center' not far away (they were caught).

 

[Richard]

5:20 AM call from Santa Fe Regional Police, recorded message. "Major incident occurred, stay home, at least one suspect on the loose, armed and dangerous."
... Anyone ever receive a network police alert like this?

I've never received a call like that. Off the top of my head, I'd probably be skeptical and try to verify its authenticity as you did.

... Would there be any other purpose in telling a large area of the city to stay home?

From what I've read, government tends to downplay some things in an effort to avoid public panic. With that in mind, I can imagine calls like that going out in the event that U.S. soil was being invaded (large-scale). Other plausible scenarios include a local terrorism event, large-scale environmental disaster, infectious disease outbreak/quarantine, and maybe even a near-earth object impact. That last one is 'out there', granted, but it came to mind as I considered your question.

While this does not pertain to van dwelling per se, I think it is an important issue to consider.

I can see it pertaining to van dwelling from the standpoint of reasonable preparedness in the event of quarantine/curfew. Has anyone else considered whether they'd be prepared on such short notice to 'weather the storm' for, say, a week or more? Frankly, I'm typically not prepared for more than a couple days of food, maybe a week's worth of water.

I guess this suggests that a paper map of some kind is a good idea to keep around as backup. In the event that cell towers in an area were disabled from earthquake, forest fire, etc., I wonder whether a phone-only GPS van dweller would be able to evacuate off-route if necessary? Hm... stuff to consider.

 

[Kathleen]

Ok...sorry...

:dodgy:

I watched that video. It was informative. Thank you. Also wanted to know what others thought of the calling system. Always wondering about new laws enacted and what their intended purpose is.

I appreciate a true public safety network. I don't appreciate regulated interference that is NOT in the best interest of the public.

Just making an observation. Don't want this to turn political.

 

[Ballenxj]

I've received Amber alerts, but never the kind you described.
Brian, that guy is a genuine scumbag.

 

[Kathleen]

I've never received a call like that. Off the top of my head, I'd probably be skeptical and try to verify its authenticity as you did.



From what I've read, government tends to downplay some things in an effort to avoid public panic. With that in mind, I can imagine calls like that going out in the event that U.S. soil was being invaded (large-scale). Other plausible scenarios include a local terrorism event, large-scale environmental disaster, infectious disease outbreak/quarantine, and maybe even a near-earth object impact. That last one is 'out there', granted, but it came to mind as I considered your question.



I can see it pertaining to van dwelling from the standpoint of reasonable preparedness in the event of quarantine/curfew. Has anyone else considered whether they'd be prepared on such short notice to 'weather the storm' for, say, a week or more? Frankly, I'm typically not prepared for more than a couple days of food, maybe a week's worth of water.

I guess this suggests that a paper map of some kind is a good idea to keep around as backup. In the event that cell towers in an area were disabled from earthquake, forest fire, etc., I wonder whether a phone-only GPS van dweller would be able to evacuate off-route if necessary? Hm... stuff to consider.

Right, I did not say so, but I thought it did pertain to van dwellers. Brian sent the video of how the system works, depending on neighborhood, city, county, state or nationwide alert.

If a van dweller is stealth on a city street where an armed and dangerous person has just committed a homicide, then it is important to know that occurred and be prepared. 

Disasters of the natural kind are also important for van dwellers to know about wherever they are located. Food, water and water filters, first aid, personal meds, there's a long list to consider carrying for safety's sake in your van.

Paper maps are a great idea. Re wilderness, if an area is of major importance to me, I order a topo map, large scale at local map shop with specialty printer, then waterproof them. These could be extremely important in case of emergency, if you need to drive or hoof it to a remote area that may provide protection from dangerous conditions.

I belong to a group concerned about everything you mentioned, a team educated way beyond prepper's mentality. We are taught to act like tribal scouts of old who care for the safety of all.

So this morning, after verifying that the call was NOT a scam, I called neighbors to be on the alert, before heading out armed and alert.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I belong to a group concerned about everything you mentioned, a team educated way beyond prepper's mentality. We are taught to act like tribal scouts of old who care for the safety of all.

Sounds a bit like CERT.

I was a member for years, and for a time I built and maintained the regional website, maintained the members email server, was communications officer, bought and paid for a lot of CERT supplies with my own money, participated in several training exercises, including small fire suppression, basic medical triage, background checks, Incident Command training, a couple of POD (point of dispensing) events, plus an actual search and rescue op, a mass shelter deployment for transplanted flood victims, and helped in one very large wildfire response, mainly in the firefighters rehab station.

After some time, and a few years of us not being needed, and the CERT supply trailer getting stolen, and in-fighting for control, and the resignation of our primary team leader, and the rank-and-file trying to assert dominion over the website that I paid for and maintained, and internal politics, I finally said...**** it.

I appreciated the training and experience, but too many people want to be chiefs, so I bowed out.

 

[Kathleen]

Sounds a bit like CERT.

I appreciated the training and experience, but too many people want to be chiefs, so I bowed out.

Excellent training and experience in CERT. If ever necessary you could still call upon those skills.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Excellent training and experience in CERT. If ever necessary you could still call upon those skills.

Yep...and I still have the CERT shirts, hats, vests, tools, supplies, and backpack.

During one of our training sessions, we had the honor of having a former Army Colonel, who had served in Afghanistan, and other places, present some very useful information.

One of the basic tenants of CERT is to provide for yourself, help your family, and then, assist your neighbors.

Another one is to always carry your backpack full of supplies, (water, food, medical kit, rain poncho, emergency blanket, basic tools, flashlight, radios, batteries, prescription meds if needed, etc) so you don't become someone that has to be helped or rescued by someone else.

This man made a great point, based on his years spent in and near the battlefield.

He said, if you get a call to deploy, and you cant find or have lost your supplies, you are better off not going forward to help...because you may very well become a liability instead of an asset. You can stay behind to help, but going forward into the problem area means that you might become a drain on the limited resources and personnel that ARE available.

Made sense to me, so I always have my supplies in a "go-kit"...and although I have never needed the stuff, I have it if I do.