LANSING - With text messages, email, and social media, police have faster ways to notify you of a potential emergency than in the past. From smartphones to social media, staying up-to-date with what's going on is right at your fingertips. And the Meridian Township Police Department is taking advantage of this by using Nixle.

"Nixle is a free service for residents to sign up for. And we recommend residents subscribe to the meridian township nixle alerts, as well as the Ingham County 9-1-1 Center's Nixle alerts. And the purpose for using those is for emergency information to be broadcast quickly," said Lieutenant Greg Frenger of the Meridian Township Police.

More quickly, he says, than most TV or Radio stations.

"If we were to send an emergency broadcast to television stations, someone has to return to the station, prepare that information, and get it sent to the right person at the different media outlets," Frenger said.

But with Nixle, Frenger said it's almost immediate. Everything from traffic alerts to community updates.

"When an individual signs up at Nixle, they can specify what kinds of alerts they want to get," Frenger said.

The alerts originate from the dispatch center at the Meridian Township Police Department. Once the alert is sent out, it goes straight to your phone or email.

Michigan State University Police recently rolled out a new alerts system that allows users to log in and edit their information.

"We never were able to have a site someone could go to, to give us the information. We had to try to make it up from the background databases we drew from," said Captain Penny Fisher of the Michigan State University Police Department.

She also said they're looking to use speaker towers located on-campus to relay messages to students.

"We're hoping that will be out by the first of April," Fischer said.

Many newer mobile devices are automatically able to receive emergency alerts without the user having to sign up. Michigan State Police says the three types of alerts that could come to your phone are AMBER Alerts, Imminent Threats, like Extreme Weather, and Presidential Alerts during a national emergency.