PROVIDENCE — A neighborhood child has been abducted, but you don’t know that. As a matter of fact, you just saw her walking down the street with someone.

But what if you had received a text message from the Police Department minutes after she had gone missing? You could let the police know, within seconds, where you saw her last, describe the person she was with, and in which direction she was going.

Calling it “the next step in our use of technology,” Col. Dean Esserman, Providence police chief, announced yesterday a partnership with Citizen Observer, a Minnesota-based company that sends alerts using e-mail and the ever-present text message, and lets people send anonymous tips to the department via texting.

The department has been researching Web-based alert systems for the past year, according to Chief Steven Melaragno, who is the architect of this program, along with Lindsay Richardson of the chief’s office.

The system, for which the department will pay $12,000 for a two-year subscription, will allow greater communication with the community, Melaragno said, and will offer alerts in English and Spanish.

About 300 cities and towns across the nation, including Cincinnati and Fort Worth, Texas, use the same system.

Notifications will be sent to either residents of a certain neighborhood or city-wide to those who sign up. Alerts will deal with trends, such as a rise in break-ins, as well as particular incidents.

Melaragno said text messages are sent through an encryption service before they reach the police station, ensuring anonymity.

Even so, he said, research in other cities, such as Boston, which uses a similar service, has shown it takes several months for potential users to feel comfortable with the assurance of anonymity. In about six months the department plans to review use, and analyze whether it’s cost-effective.

One potential benefit is connecting with a different demographic.

“We’re always interested in working on connections with people who don’t feel connected,” Esserman said, “In particular, young people.”

At a news conference yesterday, Esserman told reporters he took a cue from his children in recognizing the importance of text messaging as a popular form of communication.

“If they’re comfortable using text messages, then we’re going to learn to be comfortable receiving those text messages.”

Sign up online for alerts at: www.providencepolice.com/

bjeffers@projo.com