VERO BEACH — Residents can stay updated with local information with the Vero Beach Police Department app.
The “VBPD” app has a list of emergency shelters, important phone numbers and local government locations. It also allows users to look up sexual offenders and inmates and has features where users can submit a tip, find their parked car and view the city crime map.
Vero Beach police are the first law enforcement agency to have an app on the Treasure Coast, systems administrator Jon White said.
Police developed the app from August 2016 through September 2016 and started advertising it’s availability right before Hurricane Matthew, White said.
White said the app allows police to broaden their reach to the public outside of Facebook.
“It enables us to do things we couldn’t do with Facebook like push notifications, maps and more links to our page,” White said. “It’s used for police department alerts and other city service alerts such as boil water or electrical alerts.”
White said the app has information residents can find useful and to make it a one-stop shop for data. Even though no other law enforcement agencies have an app, the Indian River County Emergency Services Department has an app that covers safety plans, evacuations and preparedness, White said.
