DENVER (KDVR) — The city of Lakewood has announced it will transition to a new public safety communication strategy — doing away with its traditional outdoor sirens.
The Lakewood Police Department, in a press release on Wednesday, announced that the city will officially deactivate its “outdated” outdoor emergency sirens and transition to Jefferson County’s LookoutAlert system.
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Outdoor emergency sirens throughout history have been primarily used to alert residents and community members of severe weather or safety threats; however, the department said the deactivation is a “proactive step toward a more secure future” for the Lakewood community.
“Lakewood’s outdoor sirens, initially installed to provide general warnings to those outdoors, have reached the end of their service life. Their effectiveness is limited by distance, weather, background noise, and their inability to reach residents indoors. Furthermore, these sirens provide only a generic alert, offering no specific information about the type or location of the emergency,” said the police department in the release…