See something, say something: West Palm Beach Police urge community to use SaferWatch App during Sunfest
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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —
The countdown is on for the Sunfest Music Festival in West Palm Beach this weekend, and law enforcement officials are working around the clock to make sure all resources are in place to keep you safe.
On Thursday, West Palm Beach Police Chief Frank Adderley and SaferWatch CEO Geno Roefaro had a news conference speaking on the tools that you should have in your pocket to report any suspicious activity.
“If you see something that’s a little bit off, you can snap a photo. You can snap a video and be able to send that in directly to local law enforcement and they’re going to have a command post and be able to respond accordingly,” Roefaro said.
SaferWatch is an app that allows you to report anything suspicious, including crime and threats, directly to law enforcement.
West Palm Beach Police began its partnership with SaferWatch a year ago, and officials said there have since been more than 100 reports throughout the year in the community.
“Whenever you call 911 or local authorities here in the city, they actually have the ability to text you a link using the SaferWatch application where, regardless if you have the SaferWatch or not, you can get a text message on your phone. You simply click on that link, and you can actually livestream an incident that is happening,” Roefaro said.
In addition to this tool, there will be police drones surveying the area. Officers will be on foot and on bikes, and there will also be undercover police.
The West Palm Beach Police Chief told WPBF 25 News that they will be making sure the community does not become a target to criminals from outside of the area, like what happened last year.
“A group that came up from Dade County, and they stole a number of cellphones. In a matter of minutes, we were able to apprehend them, we seized all the phones and were able to give them to the rightful owner. So, we have those types of groups that sort of target these types of events, and we have measures in place to try to detect them, use the SaferWatch,” Chief Adderley said.
You can download the SaferWatch app on your phone, or you can text 561-878-TIPS (8477) if you want to report anything suspicious. There will also be signs at SunFest, that have a QR code that takes you directly to the screen to download the app.
“Obviously, it’s going to be a big crowd here. But we want to make sure that it is safe, we need your help to ensuring that it’s safe,” the chief said.
