DStike says ...

I voted yes for the obvious reasons (bank robbery, domestic, eetc.).  I know its a lot less convienient and the more i read the more i wanted to change my vote.  But then a question popped into my head, what if the complaintant is mute?  I know it is off topic, but what do these folks do in the event of an emergency?

There is a special class of phones for deaf/mute people called TTY phones : http://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=259 which are basically phones with attached keyboard, though both the sender and receiver need to have one, google 'TTY phone' for more information.

Thank you for this great snapshot of the police dispatcher in action!  Not to mention all that grace under pressure while tethered!

siberia says ...

Thought I'd post this here too to see what y'all thought - I put it on CNN's comment section on the story.

Dispatchers have enough to deal with already (multiple-channel radios, phones, three to seven screens of information, radio console, two to four keyboards/mice, plus a plethora of codes/department abbreviations), plus the field LE/EMS/Fire units, plus the complainant/caller on the phone who's probably not clearly audible due to being under stress. Do you really want the dispatchers trying to decode what's probably going to be gibberish texts due to the caller/complainant being either hyper, under stress with deteriorating fine motor skills, or both? Don't think so. Keep it simple: call 911, and leave the line open. Dispatch centers can probably pick up the location of the caller in most areas of the US now and send units out. Don't make their job harder - these are the people you depend on to send help.

Casscocop says ...

911 operators are busy enough now, they don't need to be receiving texts, especially full of abbreviations and symbols as well as the phone calls.  Since a text seems more anonymous, they would probably receive most  texts and as others have said, if you have time to text, it's not an emergency.

             Ross I´m glad I caught this thread the patrol officer depends on his or her experience i.e. the dispatcher to filter the B.S. 911 calls and the necessary by priority calls, no text can make that case on what, where & why of any emergency!

Josh congratulations on your first post, understand that each state, county, city has there own method of excepting messages thru the 911 system, once a call is made and the one on the other end fails to answer it´s an automatic response so working with just text and personal voice contact I think voice contact wins 100% ..............!

Ralph8119 says ...

Josh congratulations on your first post, understand that each state, county, city has there own method of excepting messages thru the 911 system, once a call is made and the one on the other end fails to answer it´s an automatic response so working with just text and personal voice contact I think voice contact wins 100% ..............!

Retleo said it best:  "if you got time to text, it ain't an emergency"

What ever happened to "dial 911, hit send, and leave the line open"?  Dispatchers will most likely be able to get your location through the GPS chip that's required to be in the phone you have unless your phone is so old the battery weighs more than a brick.  Plus, leaving the line open means Dispatch may just hear the reason for the call and thus be able to back you up in court.  Why is this simple logic so lost on techno-weenies??

Retleo says ...

If you have time to TEXT, then it ain't a 911 emergency.....JMHO!

 

I completely agree with this, that just seems like a really silly waste of everyone's time...

Even if your land line is equipped to do that, you've still got the problem of having: 1) an unidentified number with 2) an unknown location, in addition to 3) does the caller/complainant need LE, EMS, Fire, or all three?  Plus, you don't know if the texter knows they actually texted 911, and the dispatcher can't hear the caller's voice.  To top it off, if your text is gibberish due to fine motor skills deteriorating under stress (see Dave Grossman's On Combat), there's no guarantee a dispatcher will be able to make sense of it.

Bottom line, just dial 911 and leave the line open.  Not only is it a H*LL of a lot easier, it will get you the help you need a lot faster than a text.

By the way, sometimes texts aren't delivered as fast as everyone would like to think they are.  Remember what happened on 9/11?  Folks were getting texts and other things from "beyond the grave."

cops1521 says ...

My concern about the texting for help other than what has already been said is when people say its good for cases like a DV or bank robbery when they don't want to be seen talking on the phone. What happens if the bad guy sees them texting? You think they will just let them do that? It's just as dangerous to do that as it would be to call and talk. I do believe if the person is able to call but not talk and leave an open line, you can't do that texting. That will help the dispatcher and they may be able to hear things that can be sent to the responding officers.

Bump!  I hadn't even thought about that.  Yet another reason to:  dial 911 and leave the line open!!

I know, Ralph.  Some of us just take longer to learn than others.  Like, the tecnhno-weenie generation, for one

Doesn't it take longer to text than to dial 911? LOL Its common sense. If one has the time to text, then that individual has more than enough time in his or her hands.

I'm not convinced this is a horrible idea, but the devil is in the details. I'm pretty sure many smart people way above my pay grade are working on those very issues. In fact, this is rather old news. There were some stories over a year ago floating around regarding the first 911 center to accept SMS messages. Here's an unsatifactorily-brief treatment of the topic, but illuminating nonetheless:

Texting to 9-1-1 in Black Hawk County Consolidated Communications

Thought-provoking excerpt:

While it is important to note that a voice call remains the best way to contact 9-1-1, text messaging to 9-1-1 provides much needed assistance to speech- and hearing-impaired citizens. This solution will also help those in special circumstances where making a voice call to 9-1-1 is not possible or could compromise a caller’s safety.

Black Hawk County, Iowa, has taken the first big step into Internet communication for NG9-1-1 delivery. This advanced solution will continue to enable the PSAPs to communicate with individuals who rely mainly on text messaging.

This successful deployment demonstrates that text messaging and other NG9-1-1 delivery technologies can be implemented by agencies to provide an additional public safety service to their communities.

Dewrah says ...

Dispatcher here....this falls for me under the same situation as the 911-only cell phone. Most of the calls we get from them are accidental dials and bogus, mostly due to the fact there is no way to track it back to the person who called. But every so often we get a call from someone who wouldn't be able to call otherwise and we might just save a life.

Points to consider

• Text cannot be GPS'd, but neither can many phone calls we get, especially fromt the cheaper carriers. We can triangulate a location from what is called WPH2, but that varies in accuracy from 5 feet to 2 miles, not exactly on the money. And it works less when the caller is moving.


• A "twitter" type system would allow for us to get the exact location if the user is messaging us from a smart phone, but many of our "customers" don't, and thus would be mute point.


• Teenagers who will text 911 will also call 911. And I will tell you from experience we won't undersand half of them either way. Most don't know street names, addresses, or business names; combine that with common text shorthand and they might as well be speaking latin

In short, could we use a system like this? Yes. Would it be helpful? sure. But we would have to consider if the costs will outweigh the benefits. In a small town, most likely. In a larger department (like mine).....probably not.

BUMP!!!

Good to hear from a dispatcher! 

CAPS no disrespect too you or any other member posting here on this thread it´s pure speculation on your part with that scenario that all is going to be o.k. hiding in a hole texting, what we need to take note is the responses from professional 911 dispatchers already on the line dealing with said subject!

10-4 dispatch.........LOL

I can see texting for help in situations where you have to be quiet, such as being carjacked and stuffed in your own trunk, hearing a burglar in the room next door where your kids are sleeping, any hostage situation, etc.