What is BENS?
The Berkeley Emergency Notification System (BENS) allows the City to call residents at home to give them critical public safety information. This service is also known as an “outdialer” or a “reverse 911” system and is for emergency notifications. Calls from BENS are pre-recorded and the speaker will be very clear that it is an emergency call from the City of Berkeley. If the call is a test of the system, the message will be stated very clearly. One of the essential features of this system is that it allows the City to choose a targeted geographical area to deliver the message. For example, if a residential area were threatened by a wildfire, the residents that have AT&T landline phone service or have self-registered their cell phones or VOIP telephone numbers may receive an evacuation message.
