Clinton County Upgrades to Prepared 911 Calling
Clinton County Department of Emergency Services
The Clinton County Department of Emergency recently deployed state-of-the-art technology to improve services through a program called Prepared 911, which provides a variety of digital tools to bring enhanced situational awareness during emergencies.
One of the main features is the use of livestreaming technology, when a person calls 911, dispatchers at CCDES are now able to send a link that offers the caller the choice to opt in to allow live video to be sent from their device directly to the dispatcher. With the additional visual information, police, firefighters, and emergency medical services (EMS) can make more confident, better-informed decisions.
This new feature gives dispatchers and public safety a better understanding of the emergencies being called in and since it is opt in only, the live video feed is ended when the user decides to end the call. Dispatch is then unable to access the live camera without the caller choosing to opt in again. It’s important to note that the video call function also does not provide CCDES with access to the contents or settings of the caller’s phone.
In addition to live video, callers are still able to text with dispatchers in the event they are unable to speak over the phone during an emergency. Prepared 911 now also provides CCDES with more precise location data from callers. This means when someone calls 911, dispatchers can access the cellphone’s GPS location to send first responders exactly where they are needed.
For more information on this life saving software, please visit https://www.prepared911.com.