Stone County Texting to 911 officially operational
March 25, 2021
Stone County Emergency Services E-911 is officially announcing their upgraded Texting to 911 service. For almost a year, the Stone County Emergency Services 911 center based in Branson West has been using and evaluating the Text to 911 system. We are proud to announce the system is fully operational and working as designed.
We have already received text messages from callers wishing to remain anonymous or when feeling threatened by a nearby suspect. Some of these texts have aided law enforcement with apprehension, and in some cases, charges have been filed. There have been a few instances where a text has gone through when voice service has not been available, or the call was dropped.
With this new technology, we are also better equipped to handle persons with disabilities in an expedited manner. For many years 911 centers have only had TTY or TDD machines to communicate with our deaf or disabled population. These machines operated on a home-based phone system, and if the disabled person was driving, they had to use a relay service to call 911. Texting to 911 provides the caller with a mobile connection and a direct connection to 911, cutting the delay in response times.
We are convinced this Texting to 911 service will improve dispatch response times for our disabled community and save lives in our abled citizens.
Stone County Emergency Services E-911 is officially announcing their upgraded Texting to 911 service. For almost a year, the Stone County Emergency Services 911 center based in Branson West has been using and evaluating the Text to 911 system. We are proud to announce the system is fully operational and working as designed.
We have already received text messages from callers wishing to remain anonymous or when feeling threatened by a nearby suspect. Some of these texts have aided law enforcement with apprehension, and in some cases, charges have been filed. There have been a few instances where a text has gone through when voice service has not been available, or the call was dropped.
With this new technology, we are also better equipped to handle persons with disabilities in an expedited manner. For many years 911 centers have only had TTY or TDD machines to communicate with our deaf or disabled population. These machines operated on a home-based phone system, and if the disabled person was driving, they had to use a relay service to call 911. Texting to 911 provides the caller with a mobile connection and a direct connection to 911, cutting the delay in response times.
We are convinced this Texting to 911 service will improve dispatch response times for our disabled community and save lives in our abled citizens.