Social Media Connections
The Palo Alto Police Department believes strongly in transparency. It’s our goal to give you as many choices as possible for you to receive our news and critical public safety updates in the method you prefer. We publish identical news releases, traffic advisories, and urgent updates on Nextdoor, Twitter, and Nixle, and also publish other content to Instagram and YouTube. Please choose the platforms that work for you and connect with us today!
Expand the accordions to learn more about each of our platforms.
Please keep in mind that sending us a message via social media is not a substitute for calling the police. Please do not use social media to report criminal activity that requires a police response. If you have an emergency, please call 9-1-1. If you require non-emergency police assistance or want to report suspicious activity, please call our 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413.
AlertSCC - Sign Up For Emergency Alerts!
The City of Palo Alto uses Santa Clara County's AlertSCC system to communicate during unforeseen events or emergencies such as natural disasters, major crime bulletins, widespread power outages, and more. We strongly urge residents, businesses, and those who commute to Palo Alto to register. To sign up for free, visit the AlertSCC registration page.
Nextdoor
If you’re a Palo Alto resident, go to Nextdoor and register with your home address. You will receive news releases, traffic advisories, urgent updates, and other important safety information that pertains to your neighborhood from the Police Department, as well as diverse content from other official City of Palo Alto Nextdoor accounts.
Nixle
Go to Nixle and subscribe to us for free. We publish news releases, traffic advisories, urgent updates, community news, initial notifications of power outages, and other important safety information. You can elect to receive text message alerts, e-mail alerts, or simply view our content on their website.
Instagram
Follow us on Instagram to see photos of our officers having fun out there in the community! Note that we do not distribute press releases, traffic advisories, or urgent updates via Instagram.
YouTube
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to view PAPD videos, including educational community briefings discussing our policies and procedures, accountability measures, and more.