HAMPTON — The ability to quickly and easily inform beachgoers via their mobile phones about potentially dangerous situations or to be on the lookout for missing children is something Police Chief Jamie Sullivan is looking forward to.

For its part, Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom is looking forward to reaching as many people as possible in a 1.6-mile radius about show information, last-minute changes and special promotional offers.

It is all being made possible through a relatively new “Hyperlocal Citizens Alerts” smartphone application developed in Nashua by former congressional candidate Jim Bender.

The new app was launched in March at the New Hampshire State House with the Manchester Police Department.

Since then, at least one Massachusetts police department has signed on, and Ping4 Senior Vice-President of Marketing Michael Welts said more announcements are forthcoming, including an agreement with a statewide agency.

Welts attended a joint news conference at the Hampton Police Department with Sullivan and Casino Ballroom General Manager Fred Schaake Jr. on Tuesday to announce the deployment of the app by the Hampton police.

The ballroom gave the app to the department as a gift.

Cathy Clarke of CNC Associates, the firm handling public relations for Ping4, said pricing depends on the size of the population in the city, town, state or country of the customer.

The Casino Ballroom paid $5,000, but Schaake said the value goes beyond money.

“Being an integral part of the beach community, it is an opportunity for us to offer a tool to the Hampton Police Department that has a real benefit,” Schaake said.

Citizens can download the free “hyper-local geo-location” app on their Apple or Android smartphones and iPads to be instantly notified about natural disasters, dangerous storm situations, missing persons, traffic situations, terrorist attacks or local crimes in progress.

“This allows us to significantly increase our reach to our citizens and visitors, enabling us to notify them of riptides, missing children, crimes, traffic congestion and much more,” Sullivan said.

The ability to deliver full media alerts means that users' phones can be awoken and alerted with a pop-up, text or audio message, as well as a video or digital photo of the specific emergency situation or local event.

Law enforcement authorities can also enlist help from the community in solving crimes via a truly anonymous “A-Tip” feature.

So, if a child becomes lost on the beach, a parent can send a photo to the police department via their cell phone, and the police can then send it to users within a certain zone of the beach to be on the lookout for the child.

Users can then use the app to provide police with information anonymously.

Sullivan said such a new communication tool would have otherwise been beyond the department's means, but the potential reach is quite broad.

He said walking out on the beach, it seems nearly everyone has a cell phone in their hand.

“Not only does it add to the safety functions, but it will add to the overall experience at Hampton Beach,” Andrew Herrick, director of marketing and sales at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom said.

For interested users, the Casino Ballroom will use the system to broadcast information about upcoming shows, events and special promotions at their venue and other local retailers along the Hampton Beach boardwalk.

Welts said they will be working with both the police department and the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom to market the free app to users.

gmacalaster@newstote.com