Back in September 2013, Twitter launched Twitter Alerts, “a new feature that brings us one step closer to helping users get important and accurate information from credible organizations during emergencies, natural disasters or moments when other communications services aren’t accessible.”
As of Monday, 18 November 2013, the same service now exists in the Britain backed by all of the UK’s 47 Police Forces, the London Fire Brigade, the London Ambulance Service, the Foreign Office, the Environment Agency, the Mayor of London, the British Red Cross and others.
The service lets the organisations mark certain tweets as alerts, highlighting them with an orange bell on users’ timelines. Those who follow the account have the added option of signing up for notifications directly to their phone, through a SMS message or a push notification from the Twitter app.
Similarly, a UK Government mobile phone alert system began testing in three parts of the UK back in September which also allowed organisations to send short SMS messages to users in emergency situations. However, the UK Government’s system is limited to pre-specified “civil emergency” events, including disease pandemics, coastal flooding and terrorist attacks; something which may go some way to preventing much of the criticism the Twitter Alerts system has received in the US for perceived ‘overuse’.
Which system, Twitter Alerts or the UK Government’s mobile phone alert system, will catch on the fastest in the UK is up for debate. But in the meantime, if you are interested in trying the service from Twitter, here is a list of the 56 organisations signed up to Twitter Alerts in the UK as of August 2015:
Police
- London Metropolitan Police
- Greater Manchester Police
- Dyfed Powys Police
- Norfolk Police
- Essex Police
- Kent Police
- Nottinghamshire Police
- Surrey Police
- Cheshire Police
- Bedfordshire Police
- Wiltshire Police
- West Mercia Police
- Cleveland Police
- West Midlands Police
- Hampshire Police
- Merseyside Police
- Dorset Police
- North Yorkshire Police
- Derbyshire Police
- Staffordshire Police
- Gloucestershire Police
- Lincolnshire Police
- Leicestershire & Rutland Police
- Northamptonshire Police
- Suffolk Police
- Warwickshire Police
- Devon & Cornwall Police
- Northumbria Police
- South Yorkshire Police
- Cumbria Police
- City Of London Police
- Cambridgeshire Police
- Hertfordshire Constabulary
- Sussex Police
- Thames Valley Police
- Avon and Somerset Constabulary
- Durham Constabulary
- Humberside Police
- West Yorkshire Police
- Lancashire Constabulary
- Police Service of Northern Ireland
- Gwent Police
- North Wales Police
- South Wales Police
- Police Scotland
- National Crime Agency (NCA)
- British Transport Police
Fire services
- London Fire Brigade
- Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue
- Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue
- Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service
- Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service
- Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue
- Jersey Fire & Rescue Service
- Scottish Fire – West
- Scottish Fire – North
- Scottish Fire – East
- Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service
- Cambridgeshire Fire & Rescue
- South Wales Fire & Rescue Service
- Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service
- Humberside Fire and Rescue Service
- Buckinghamshire (and Milton Keynes) Fire and Rescue Service
- West Midlands Fire Service
- Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service
- Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service
- Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service
- South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue
- Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service
- Dorset Fire & Rescue Service
- Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service
- North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service
- North Wales Fire
- County Durham & Darlington Fire & Rescue Service
- Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service
- Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service
- Kent Fire and Rescue Service
- West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service
- Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service
- Mid & West Wales Fire & Rescue Service
- Cleveland Fire Brigade
- Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service
- Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service
- Staffordshire Fire
- West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service
Emergency services
Government organisations
- Met Office
- Environment Agency
- Natural Resources Wales
- Foreign Office
- Foreign Office – Travel advice
- Mayor of London
- Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre (CEOP)
- Child Rescue Alerts
Charities