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THE number of people signing up to a Text Alert service from their local Gardaí in the country has more than doubled in just three years, according to new figures.
In Kerry there are 43 Text Alert services with 5,752 subscribers.
Fresh figures released by the Garda Crime Prevention National Centre of Excellence today show that as of April 2017, a total of 1,085 Text Alert schemes exist around the country, including 191,181 individual subscribers.
This compares to 80,000 subscribers that were registered in April 2014.
The increasing popularity of the scheme is the result of a concerted drive by An Garda Síochána to raise awareness of text alert service, which was set up in conjunction with Muintir na Tíre and Neighbourhood Watch.
The highest number of subscribers are in Tipperary (21,540), followed by Kilkenny-Carlow (15,026), and Roscommon-Longford (13,939). In Dublin there are 79 schemes operating, with 7,990 subscribers.
Under the Text Alert service, subscribers signed up through community schemes receive alerts from Gardai advising them of suspicious or criminal activity in their local area. It also supports existing Community Crime Prevention Programmes.
