Summerville Enacts Community Alert System

Summerville has implemented its first community alert system. 

Residents are asked to provide an email address and phone number to stay on top of emergency situations with the system provided by Nexle. The system does not charge the town or citizens. 

Click here to sign up for the alert system.

Summerville citizens pushed for an alert system after increased violence in the Robynwyn community, including the fatal shooting of John Elliot Hancock. 

"I'm not saying this is the answer but it's a step forward," Mayor Bill Collins said. 

Alerts will be sent out for shootings, hazardous material spills, burglaries and more. There will be no alerts for rapes or criminal domestic violence. 

Collins said certain alerts for incidents like shootings and burglaries will be delayed to keep citizens out of harm's way and to preserve the integrity of the investigation.

In addition to the system, the residents of Robynwyn are forming Crime Watch groups, Collins said.

"The police are only as good as the help from the citizens," he said. "They need cooperation and support to help them do their jobs."