News
Hocking County Sheriff Creates App to Help Community
By: Destiniee Jaram
Posted on:
HOCKING,Ohio (WOUB)—The Hocking County Sheriff says he hopes a new app by his department will help vulnerable populations within the county.
The Hocking County Sheriff app is a tool available on iPhones, Androids, and tablets for residents that provides information or links to a number of different services and resources in the county.
On the app, residents can access information such as a list of sexual predators and the contacts of the sheriff’s office.
Hocking County residents can also access information related to local school districts in the county, senior citizen and veterans programs, drug dependency programs, and local weather all through push notifications.
Sheriff Lanny North says he also wanted to make sure the app focused on the county’s veteran population.
“Hocking has almost 12% of its population are veterans and there’s a lot of resources available to veterans, which, they may not be aware of,” North said, “I think by putting the app on the phone, they might see what’s there to help them.”
North said he got the idea for the app when he heard of other sheriff offices creating apps for their residences. He began to develop the app in early February 2019. Three months later, the app launched on May 24.
The app was funded entirely by the Athens-Hocking-Vinton 317Board, alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services program.