Michigan PSAP realizes benefits from Rave Mobile Safety two-way 911 text solution

Miller also noted that information from text messaging can improve officer safety, particularly when responding to an abandoned call associated with a domestic-abuse incident.

“Domestic-violence situations are some of the most dangerous situations that we can send our officer into,” Miller said. “So, rather than sending one officer with no knowledge of what the call may be about, these agencies are able to have better situational awareness.

“They’re able to recognize that this is a call that requires a different type of response. They can say, ‘Let’s not send one officer with no information; let’s send two [officers], with the knowledge that this is a domestic-violence situation.”

Culver said he believes that Smart911Chat is intuitive for a telecommunicator to use.

“It literally takes me only 5 to 10 seconds to generate a text message to reply back to the caller—it is very user-friendly and easy to use, and it does not take up a lot of time,” Culver said. “So, the second I send that 911 text and I don’t have an exact location—so I can’t send an officer—I can go onto the next call and keep that [text exchange] open. So, when he or she [the emergency texter] does eventually reply back, I can then start working with the call. Until then, I can start working on something else.

“So, it doesn’t take long to use. I can initiate a text really quickly and move on to something else, if I have to. And that’s really important, because it’s got to be quick and easy to use. It’s a very user-friendly program.”