So far, text-to-911 messages not as cryptic as feared, panelists say
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So far, text-to-911 messages not as cryptic as feared, panelists say
Steuben County, which receives about 7,000 calls every month and more than 9,000 calls during the summer months, started offering the service last spring, and—so far—the use has been minimal, Hopkins said. The texts that have been received have not presented a language challenge, he added.
“Other than the agencies using it right now, we don’t have a lot of people using it,” Hopkins said during the panel discussion. “It’s one of those things where you’re grateful that it’s there. If somebody wants to use it, they can.
“I’ll be really excited when we can do the campaign that says all of the carriers are on board.”
Hopkins said they encourage dispatchers to push texting to a voice conversation, if possible.
“We always encourage, if possible, to get a voice communication going,” he said. “I say that, because—as everyone who has sat in a console position will attest to—sometimes it’s not what’s said to you. It’s what you pick up.”
Gojanovich said it’s been the same with the almost 100 PSAPs he has worked with to provide the service, even after announcements were made that additional carriers were supporting the service.
“One of the things that everybody has been afraid of is a flood of (texts),” Gojanovich said. “For the longest time, there was this almost irrational fear that we’re going to be overwhelmed with (texts) from teenagers, and I can tell you, most assuredly … that ain’t happening.
“Teenagers, when they’re having an emergency, they want to hear your voice on the other end of the line to reassure them, just like the rest of us.”
Of course, the lack of a
Of course, the lack of a “flood” of text messages to 9-1-1 could also mean the service is much less valuable than indicated by the hype and urgency generated by politicians (Congress) and regulators (FCC). Hearing-impaired 911 users aside, how many incidents a month will actually be expedited by this text-to-911 service when it’s adopted by each individual agency?
The only thing it has allowed
The only thing it has allowed is kids to swat eachother anonymously
There are several concerns
There are several concerns about how this technology is still to loose to apply against the standards of current E911 dispatch centers. It is not adversion to something new, it is knowing how difficult it is to provide the highest standards possible to ensure that all calls for assistance are handled properly. While smaller PSAP locations may be able to begin to digest this mode at this time, it gets a lot more complicated when you have multiple PSAP’s in a region, and secondary PSAP’s that they have to transfer to. There is a huge variance in CAD / end user equipment, and call handling procedures for text is not yet or well defined. At one time, 911 was a number that could have been easily enabled by the phone companies, but the police and fire departments were not ready, did not have capable equipment, funding etc. to handle it. This new mode is the same thing. A new capability is being enabled by the telecom providers, but there has not been serious review and planning with the public safety agencies on how to design the network, the procedures, and how to provide fair and effective services to the public. Public Safety agencies and organizations need to push back a little harder to help make sure standards of care are not being comprimised before taking on a potential great new service.