I’m a little upset at all of the phone calls and emails I’ve gotten as of late which I’ve traced back to the Alert San Diego system. Here’s the start of what I anticipate to be a long-winded discussion regarding what truly qualifies as an emergency and what this system should be used for. I left the mayors, city council members, and press out of the discussion… for now.
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To: San Diego County Office of Emergency Services
To: Escondido Police Department, Chief of Police
I’m a bit disturbed at the apparent recent misuse of the Alert San Diego system by the Escondido Police Department in search of Sheila Ann Lopes.
When I signed up with AlertSanDiego (per the San Diego County OES website at http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/oes/ready/signup.html), it stated (and still states) that the system is designed:
“…to send telephone notifications to residents and businesses within San Diego County impacted by, or in danger of being impacted by, an emergency or disaster. This system, called AlertSanDiego, will be used by emergency response personnel to notify those homes and businesses at risk with information on the event and/or actions (such as evacuation) we are asking them to take.â€
Even more specifically, and in bold face type, it says:
“The telephone number you register below will be called only when the address it is associated with is impacted by a disaster or emergency.â€
I’ve now received at least two (maybe three?) sets of phone calls beginning on Thursday evening, August 28th and again more recently. I received calls on all of my registered phone numbers (home, cell), so did my wife (cell) and we both received emails. We expected that these would ONLY BE USED if our home in San Marcos was “impacted by a disaster or emergency†when we were “at riskâ€. Instead, I’m getting bugged by phone calls which, among other things, cost me additional money (air time minutes at the very least never mind my time to listen to long-winded messages).
Is this really an emergency? I’m sure it is for Ms. Lopes and her family, and I’m glad to do my part to keep an eye out for her (I heard it on the news as well after all)..but do I need to receive 6-8 phones calls in total and multiple emails??? Do I really need any calls/emails at all for this type of ‘emergency’?
While I’m sensitive to the fact that Sheila Ann Lopes is missing, and while I can appreciate the value of using such a system (and even would love it to be used if one of my own loved ones was missing), I’m forced to look at the practical side of things. This sets a dangerous precedence when it comes to alerting for missing persons in my community and I have no interest in getting notified regarding all of the missing people that could be coming behind Ms. Lopes. I didn’t opt-in for missing person alerts that, in my opinion, violate the commitment the OES made when I signed up for this service.
The only reason I provided all of these contact methods in one place was to aid in a true emergency where mass notification was absolutely required. Fire, earthquake, flood, I’m thinking ‘act of god’ here — where there’s no practical way for public safety personnel to otherwise communicate an urgent message to a large audience that threatens, or potentially threatens, the lives of many people.
Do you agree that the system has been misused? Or am I totally out in left field here?
Consider the consequences of these actions… those not wanting a flood of SPAM from OES and going to opt-out of the service (people like me). What then happens to us in a true emergency? I guess maybe we don’t have to worry about that because the OES website doesn’t currently facilitate someone removing themselves from the database.
I look forward to your response.
Best regards,
Michael Barboni
City of San Marcos Resident
