City of Austin
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASERelease Date:
Contact: Public Information Office 512-974-5017 Email
Today, the Austin Police Department (APD) launched the Atlas One mobile app, a location-based civic engagement network that sends alerts to your smartphone about nearby community engagement, incidents, and announcements. The free mobile application gives the community unprecedented access to online city services and information.
“We are extremely excited to launch Atlas One to the Austin Community today,” said Interim Chief of Police Joseph Chacon. “With Atlas One, we have the ability to send personalized geo-fenced notifications to an area as small as a building, allowing us to get information to the community in real-time. This technology will help keep our residents informed and possibly save lives.”
The app allows APD to send geo-fenced push notification alerts when a public safety issue occurs nearby a user’s current location, or places residents care about, such as their home, school, or office. Alerts are interactive, and can include text, photos, videos, documents, and even voice recordings. In addition, residents will have one-stop-shop access to existing APD services and resources, such as our website, social media, and contact information. Users can also explore nearby incidents, community engagement, places, and interactive guides.
“As an Austin-based tech company, today is a major milestone for our team, both professionally and personally. Not only are we partnering with one of the most innovative police departments in the United States, but we are giving back to our community and providing an immensely valuable public safety service to Austin residents,” said Kushyar Kasraie, CEO of Atlas One. “We would like to thank Chief Chacon for his leadership and eagerness to increase transparency with the Austin community. We built Atlas One with the belief that radical transparency is the backbone to lasting community partnerships and a prerequisite to achieving true public safety. That we get to launch in our hometown is icing on the cake.”
Additionally, users can find their District Representative Officer by using the Find Your District Representative link on the Community Engagement section of the app. APD will also have the ability to publish incidents, events, places, and guides, and include interactive information such as directories, maps, news updates, links, and FAQs.
"Atlas One will provide Austinites with unprecedented access to real-time public safety information, while still protecting user privacy,” said Jamieson Johnson, Vice President of Atlas One. “By sharing GPS location with the app, Austin PD will be able to immediately notify users if a critical public safety incident or emergency is occurring nearby their location. That said, we never track historical location or share personal data with any third parties, including Austin PD.”
How it Works