Indiana one of first states to introduce text-to-911

Anyone in Indiana will now be able to text 911 for emergency assistance, in what the Federal Communications Commission is calling next-generation 911
capabilities.

The Indiana Statewide 911 Board has announced a public safety initiative that will enable everyone who lives or travels in Indiana direct access to emergency services via text message.

Indiana is the second state to offer this service.

For now the service is only available to those with Verizon Wireless service.
The nation’s three other preeminent wireless companies, T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T, are expected to provide this service in the upcoming weeks.

The public should only communicate with 911 dispatchers via text messages if they’re unable to speak because of a medical condition or if speaking would be
unsafe.

Using a phone to call 911 is still the most efficient way to contact emergency services, said Barry Ritter, executive director of the Statewide 911 Board.

To emphasize the importance of using the most efficient method during emergencies, the 911 Board introduced the slogan “B 4 U TXT 911 VOICE is best,” to correspond with the introduction of the text-to-911 service.

The Statewide 911 Board advises customers using the text-to-911 service to provide their location and nature of their emergency in the first text message, since the emergency dispatch centers will only receive an approximate location of the cell phone.

Text message abbreviations or slang should never be used so the dialogue is as clear as possible, the Board said.

After the emergency dispatch center receives a 911 text, they will attempt to engage in a text conversation to procure as much information as possible, said Jeff Schemmer, Bloomington Police Department communications manager.

The text-to-911 service will be beneficial to those who are deaf or speaking-impaired.
“The main concern, as the deaf and speaking-impaired population has transitioned to wireless devices, is their availability to emergency services has been nonexistent,” Ritter said. “It was our focus that the sooner we could begin offering text-to-911 services, we would be providing equal access to the deaf and speaking-impaired.”

Indiana was estimated to have more than 240,000 residents with a hearing disability in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That number has steadily increased since 2009.

“This project enables direct access to emergency service for an underserved segment of our population,” Ritter said.

In October, INdigital telecom of Fort Wayne activated the 911 connection capable of supporting this pioneer service.

INdigital telecom designed, built and operates the IN911 network, the text-to-911 service, for the State 911 Board, which provides the service to 911 agencies throughout the state.

The Monroe County Dispatch Center in Bloomington recently installed the text-to-911 software on its computers, and it is currently in the process of training staff to use it.
The text-to-911 service is currently unavailable for Indiana residents living in Monroe County.

“We need to familiarize ourselves with the software and be efficient using that software before going live,” Schemmer said.

Schemmer said he anticipates Monroe County residents being able to utilize the service within the next month.

Until then, if someone dials 911 by text message, he or she will receive a kickback message informing them that the feature isn’t available in their area.

“Ideally, we want to talk to somebody when there is an emergency going on,” he said. “There is a lot of information we need to obtain, and it’s quicker and a little bit more efficient by voice.”

The Monroe County Dispatch Center answers 911 calls for everyone in the county except the IU campus, which has its own dispatch center.

IU students will not have access to the text-to-911 service until the Monroe County Dispatch text-to-911 service is operational.

All wireless 911 calls and text messages go directly to Monroe County Central Dispatch.

If a call or text message originates from campus, central dispatch will forward the information directly to the IU Police Department, Lt. Craig Munroe said.

IUPD currently doesn’t have the software capabilities to operate the text-to-911 service, Munroe said.

“We figure we’ll be operational by the 2014 fall semester,” he said. “That’s what we’re shooting for.”