CommunitySafe is a service used by local councils and emergency services to tell members of the public when an emergency has occurred.
CommunitySafe.gov.uk is a joint initiative by Police and Local Councils. The site and technology is provided by a company called CitySafe, for more information on CitySafe visit our website.
When you register with CommunitySafe you will be shown a list of groups that you can join. Once you have joined a group and verified your contact methods you will receive messages from that group. You can join any or all of the groups.
No, the CommunitySafe system works with your network provider to send the messages and has no way of tracking where you are.
The CommunitySafe service is registered and follows the guidelines under the Data Protection Act 1998. For more information please visit the Information Commisioners website.
The messages are sent by the Metropolitan Police and/or local councils.
Local councils and the emergency services want to tell you when an emergency happens, and where it's happened, so you can protect yourself from harm. You can also subscribe to groups for information on smaller incidents, events or emergencies that may cause disruption to your daily life. The service is provided by Local Authorities and Police as part of their requirements under the Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) to Warn and Inform the public.
No, the messages won't tell you what to do. They will tell you when and where an emergency has occurred, for more information on how you can prepare yourself to cope in an emergency visit the preparing for emergencies website , for specific information on London visit the London Prepared website.
Yes, if a map is produced in relation to the incident it is also sent as a very small file attached to your email and as a link via the SMS text message. To access the map from the text message simply the click the link (Your phone will need to have access to the internet) and the associated map will be downloaded.
The number of messages sent out depends on what groups you join. Before you join a group you can check how many messages they send per month. As a general rule URGENT groups will only send a message when an emergency has occurred that causes or threatens imminent danger to life and limb. Non urgent groups tend to send messages more frequently.
Website and email is free. You can sign up for access to the website and to receive emails for free.
SMS Text messages will cost you no more than 10/12p per message depending on your network provider. You can opt in or out to receive the messages by SMS text at anytime.
Unfortunately any existing text messages you may have pre-purchased on bundled as part of your phone contract cannot be used to receive CommunitySafe messages and you will still be billed 10/12p per CommunitySafe message you receive. Remember you can opt in and out at anytime.
To stop receiving messages log into www.communitysafe.gov.uk, click the button called "Manage Groups". Uncheck the contact methods for those groups you no longer want to receive messages for.
You can also stop receiving messages by SMS Text by sending the text message - SAFE LEAVE (name of the group) to the number #{SMS::Essendex.number}. For example, I would type "SAFE LEAVE Westminster" and send this text message to #{SMS::Essendex.number}. This will stop all SMS Text from this group.
You can choose not to receive messages by deselecting any or all of your contact methods on the 'manage notifications' page.
You can also stop receiving messages by SMS Text by sending the text message - SAFE LEAVE (name of the group) to the number #{SMS::Essendex.number} For example I would type "SAFE LEAVE Westminster" and send this text message to #{SMS::Essendex.number}. This will stop all SMS Text from this group.
Yes, when you first register you will be asked to provide an email address, mobile phone number and/or pager number. Once you've registered you can add more contact methods on your home page.
No, you can sign up to any or all of the URGENT or GENERAL groups no matter where you live.
If we're sending too many messages you can manage the groups you are subscribed to by logging into www.communitysafe.gov.uk, clicking the "Manage Groups" button and deselecting the contact methods for those groups you no longer want to receive information for.
If an alert is sent with an image and your mobile can't receive it you will be sent a plain text message instead.
If you're not getting any messages you can check your subscriptions by clicking on 'manage notifications' from your homepage.
Click on the manage notifications link from your homepage, from there you will be able to join more groups and choose how you receive the alerts. If you're looking for a specific group that does not appear under the 'browse groups' section it may be a private group, visible by invite only. In this instance a group member needs to send you an invite to join the group.
If you haven't verified any of your contact methods, click 'notify' next to your mobile number or email address. You will then receive a message with a verification code, you can either follow the link from an email or enter the code on the website.