Inside INdigital: Why text-for-911 is so important
Guest blog written by
Laken Detweiler
Social Media Specialist - INdigital
I have three questions for you:
Have you ever pocket dialed someone?
Do you decline a call when you don’t know the number that is calling?
Have you ever texted someone instead of talking because you have to be quiet?
There is a solid chance you answered yes to at least two of the three questions, as would many people. I know I did! I tend to be a person that texts someone I’m in the same room with when I’m not supposed to be talking.
In 2013 INdigital deployed Texty to help solve some of those issues, as well as give the public an additional way to reach their 911 center. Our goal at INdigital is to provide you with something better. We work to go above and beyond the current standards because we are passionate about creating solutions that impact you, your PSAP and your community.
Texty is your text-for-911 solution and an integral part of Next Generation 911. When the service was rolled out in Indiana in 2013, text-from-911 was used for the first year to give dispatchers time to get used to the ins and outs of Texty. In 2014 text-to-911 was rolled out. The whole state of Indiana was operational with text-for-911 in 2016.
There’s a stigma around adding text-for-911 to centers because many think it would bring an influx of calls, problems, and a slowed workflow. For many PSAPs though, it has done the complete opposite! It’s increased workflow, helped individuals in situations where talking could be dangerous, and helped keep phone lines open for incoming calls.
“In the industry, there is a lot of hesitation [with texting], and I don’t know if being scared is the correct term, but there’s a lot of hesitation,” said Deputy Director of Baldwin County 911 Dan Wright. “Now that I’ve implemented Texty fully in two different PSAPs…there’s no reason not to do it because it’s simple. It’s easy. The fear of being inundated with incoming text is just not correct information…. It’s just another tool in our toolbox that serves the public and makes us more efficient.”
Wright, who is from Alabama, initially implemented Texty at Chilton which serves a population of about 45,000. Now he is in Baldwin County and serves a population of about 220,000. While at Chilton, Wright had severe weather come through Alabama in January that was predicted to have strong winds. From previous storms, Wright knew they'd get a bunch of incoming calls, making it difficult to place outbound calls to notify utilities and road crews of storm damage. In preparation for the storm, they set up a system where they would send a text from Texty to the on-call person rather than calling to identify where trees were down in the road. They would send an address or intersection via Texty, which allowed phone lines to remain open for other incoming calls.
Michelle Birge, Lead Dispatcher at Purdue University in Lafayette, Ind., said her staff uses it daily: 911 hang-ups, open lines, sharing resolutions to a problem. Dispatchers are multi-taskers and Texty helps Michelle and her staff to do that. They can send a text message to manage a call without being tied up on the phone, which allows her to assist with other incoming calls. For example, Michelle told me about how she was able to use Texty to give an update to a mother who'd called in with a concern when students were moving on to campus.
“I had a mother who had a question about the security of her daughter in a dorm because she found an open door that wouldn’t secure in a residence hall,” said Birge. “I did everything I needed to do, made all my contacts, and instead of calling her back, I sent her a text message letting her know what had been done to resolve the issue. She sent back a message and we were able to close the call because we were finished. We do use it as a form of communication more than just for 911.”
A small community in Georgia uses Texty and has recognized it’s worth when it comes to efficiency and safety. Like many other counties, instead of calling on an open line or a disconnect, West Point, Ga. dispatchers send a text message via Texty.
“A lot less time is spent getting an answer,” said Chief Mitt Smith of the West Point Fire Department. “Any time you can slow down [and] cut the lights and sirens, you can be safer.”
Smith said they haven’t had anyone text instead of calling, but it has still made a large impact on their PSAP.
“We’ve been fortunate to have most [people] text back very quickly,” said Smith. “We’ve had great value in reaching back out to people. It’s been a really good asset of the program.”
Texty has also helped save domestic violence victims. Wells County 911 Director Adam McCartney discussed two separate occasions where Texty allowed officers to be dispatched to help with domestic violence situations. The most recent occurred on August 1.
“Our dispatch center received a 911 hang up,” said McCartney. “The dispatcher did the correct procedure, they sent the Texty [message], she notified them that they had dialed 911, but all she [the caller] said was ‘yes, there is an emergency.’ Our dispatcher tried to ascertain the location, and what the emergency was, but the caller really only gave her the address, which was good enough.”
He said police were dispatched to verify the emergency. When they arrived at the address, no one could see inside the house because all the windows were covered.
“People were refusing to answer the door, but the officer stuck with it. They could tell that there was someone in the home,” said McCartney. “Finally, a male subject came to the door, and it ended up being that he had battered the female in front of their child. At that point, he was arrested for battery…. She was unable to answer the phone, but she could still text us at the time.”
Tom Garoffolo, retired Communications Director of Boone County, Ind., said that Texty proved its worth on their fourth use of it. A dispatcher received a 911 hang-up call and proceeded to call back, but they didn’t get an answer. That was followed up with a text message stating they'd received a 911 call from this number and asking if everything was ok.
“She [the dispatcher] got a reply back a couple of minutes later that there was a family confrontation that had happened, but it was taken care of and the person said thank you.”
The dispatcher tried to confirm they didn’t need an officer, but at that point, the caller asked for an officer to be sent to the house. While the officer was en route, the dispatcher was able to gather more information about the situation and update the officer: there had been a physical altercation and death threats. When officers arrived, an individual was arrested for battery.
“It’s a classic case for how this thing works,” said Garoffolo.
We live in a world where people would much rather send a text message than answer the phone, especially when they don’t know the caller, and that’s ok. It just means that we need to adapt to best serve our community. From the examples above, you can see there are times people may not be able to make a phone call and having the ability to communicate silently with a 911 center could save their life.
At INdigital, we will ensure that you know how to best utilize our solutions. We won’t throw you to the wolves and make you figure it out on your own, we want to help you successfully serve your community.
“Before we went with Texty, we had Bob come over and do a demo with several of our staff, and then when we made the decision to go with it,” said Smith. “Before we went live, he came over and did another demo…[they’ve] just been fantastic to work with…. It’s been a great relationship.”
If you’re interested in learning more about Texty and the impact it can have on your center, email us at sales@indigital.net. Remember, our goal is to provide you with something better. We want to go above and beyond the current standards because we are passionate about creating solutions that impact you and the people you serve.