The Paris police department has started a new program in an effort to curb crime that directly affects the merchants and businesses of the city. The "Merchant Alert" program will utilize the CodeRED notification system already in use by the city for emergency and other information dissemination to our citizens. The notification can be delivered via e-mail, SMS text messaging or telephone calls as provided by the merchants who sign up for the program. Information regarding organizied theft, identity theft, scams, stolen or forged checks and robberies will be made available to the registered users in real time or as soon as information is available. For instance, John gets his checks stolen out of his car. The department will issue an alert that these checks have been stolen, hopefully preventing any passing of the stolen checks. Merchants who are informed of what crime is taking place primarily in the business setting have a better chance of not becoming a victim. You can download the registration form by navigating to the police department crime prevention page and clicking on the Merchant Alert to download the form or by contacting the departments Community Oriented Policing Unit at 903-737-4137 or by e-mail at bdeere@paristexas.gov.