Back in March, Switched On discussed a number of Kickstarter projects (all of which have now shipped) that extended sensor-based monitoring and notification to remote locations (provided there was WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity).

ENGADGET: Switched On: The fork, the ficus and the flandoodle

While many law enforcement agencies use Twitter and Facebook, and there are other public safety notification systems such as CodeRED, Nixle has become increasingly popular with law enforcement, said Lauri Stevens, a Massachusetts-based law enforcement social media strategist.

MSN: Police embrace emerging social media tool