Local law enforcement promote See Something Send Something app

The See Something Send Something app is a new way to be aware of potential danger and report it with just a smartphone.

Creators of the app say they wanted to make a streamline way to get information from the public to officers.

“I hope that it will encourage the community to interact better with Police Departments and Sheriff's Offices and school districts get information in a timely manner and be able to do it through a smart device which typically everybody now has available to them on a daily basis,” App Creator Kevin Angell said.

Buffalo County is already pushing the app in schools and they have seen over 2,000 downloads since the start of the school year. The Hall County Sheriff is now trying to do the same thing.

“The first key element in making this work is the schools need to understand what it is and what it will do,” Hall County Sheriff Jerry Watson said. “But it's a partnership, it's not just law enforcement coming in and saying this is how it works.”

Users can send tips anonymously of any suspicious behavior they see. In the age of frequent school shootings, officers hope this could one day prevent one.

“There's just so much stuff going on out there today,” Sheriff Watson said. “This just gives you direct access to us and immediately that we can have that information and process it and figure out what we need to do.”

In Nebraska, the app currently covers all of the Tri-Cities, to North Platte, to the Kansas state line. It is also paid for by the state Homeland Security grant, making it free to the public.

The app also sends you alerts when there is a serious threat close by and you can check to see the status of a tip you have sent in yourself among many other features.