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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

IUPD offers new option to contact 911

In times of emergency, students will now be able to text 911 for help on campus.

The Indiana Statewide 911 Board now offers text-to-911 services on local college campuses, according to a Statewide 911 Board press release.

IU Police Department is offering this service.

The Statewide 911 Board operates under the Indiana Treasurer’s Office. It has state jurisdiction over 911 services.

During homecoming, the board will launch a campaign to spread the word on its text-to-911 services.

The board will also stress that calling 911 in the case of emergency is still the best option during this campaign.

“Texting to 911 is now an alternative method to contact law enforcement and encouraged when calling is not a possibility. When calling the police, be prepared to help them help you,” IUPD’s Lt. W. Craig Munroe said in the release. “You should be ready to identify the nature of the incident, the location, time, persons or property involved and anything unusual or distinctive about the incident or persons involved.”

Barry Ritter, the executive director of the Indiana Statewide 911 Board, said the service has already undergone some changes.

“After announcing the accessibility of the text-to-911 technology earlier this year, we have made numerous improvements and have gone through a great number of trainings to aggressively on-board emergency call centers throughout Indiana,” Ritter said in the release. “Indiana being in front of such an important public safety tool continues our dedication to keeping our communities safe, especially our university campuses.”

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