PORT ALLEN — On the heels of the Brusly Police Department and Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office, the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office has now implemented life-saving technology known as PursuitAlert. This technology is designed to notify drivers of active law enforcement pursuits, road hazards, and road closures in their immediate area in real time.
In addition to notifying drivers of a nearby, ongoing pursuit, the technology can also provide “move over” alerts when emergency personnel are on the highway.
Last month, the Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office unveiled the technology in its department. Iberville Sheriff Brett Stassi said that at a price between $10,000 and $11,000 per year for his office, the alert system is well worth it.
“The cost is minimal for our agency to do this. I’m asking all the sheriffs, all the cities that can afford it to put this into the vehicles — this can save lives,” Stassi said.
West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Jeff Bergeron unveiled the technology on Tuesday morning near the 18th JDC Courthouse, the most recent sheriff’s office to do so.
“This system represents an important advancement in how we protect both our deputies and the citizens of West Baton Rouge,” Bergeron said.
PursuitAlert is a technology that lets law enforcement send out an alert to those nearby with the DigitalSiren app and compatible vehicles when there is an ongoing pursuit.
“Simply put, this technology increases public awareness by notifying drivers and pedestrians when emergency vehicles are operating nearby, giving them the chance to slow down, move over, and avoid dangerous situations.”
Alerts are sent to users within a two-mile radius, and as deputies travel, the radius updates and continues to inform those nearby of the location of pursuit activity, Bergeron explained.
“The system also activates when deputies are stopped on the roadway with emergency lights engaged, such as during traffic stops or roadside incidents. These alerts remind approaching drivers to slow down and move over, helping protect first responders and the public. The goal of this technology is simple: To increase awareness, prevent crashes, and enhance public safety.”
MORE: Brusly High students killed in wreck were best friends
The Caroline Grace Gill Foundation has been instrumental in helping these local agencies get the PursuitAlert technology. The foundation started about a year after best friends Maggie Dunn and Caroline Gill were both killed in a crash where an Addis Police officer assisting Baton Rouge Police in a pursuit t-boned the car they were in. The crash happened on New Year’s Eve day in 2022.
Maggie Dunn’s mother Erin Martin also spoke at the event, thanking the sheriff for committing to public safety.
“This is truly good governance, to see a need—high-speed pursuits and the danger they create is definitely a systemic problem—and this is something that’s going to help alleviate that and promote public safety,” Martin shared. “I also want to thank Tim Morgan and Jason Gill for their complete vigilance in this. This is definitely something that is going to save lives.”
Martin said that while this is an app, it can be hooked up to hands-free controls in vehicles, which allows the user to use the app without interfering with their driving.
“If this had been a thing in December of 2022, Maggie and Caroline would be alive today,” she added. “I encourage the public to download and utilize this app.”
The app and service is free for users. To download the app, visit your phone or device’s app store and search “Digital Siren”. The app can also be downloaded using the QR codes as seen below. Waze app users can also receive notifications and alerts when the app is in use.
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