Oct. 26 – After approval by the board last month, Morgan County 911 now has the ability to receive photos, videos and livestreams from callers – a capability that officials expect will provide several benefits to first responders.
“It would give the guys responding to the incident an opportunity to think specifically about what to do or not do while they’re on the road, rather than waiting until they get to the scene to see it,” Decatur Fire said . and rescue chief Tracy Thornton.
Morgan County 911 Director Jeanie Pharis demonstrated the new capabilities to The Decatur Daily on Monday. When a dispatcher receives a call, he has the option to send a link to the caller via SMS. If the caller follows the link, they will receive simple instructions to send location, images or video, for example. They can even start a live stream and the corresponding video will appear in a window on the coordinator’s computer.
The Alabama State 9-1-1 Board brought text-to-911 capabilities to dispatch centers in December 2023 by partnering with Prepared, a New York-based company that makes 911 telecommunications software. Pharis explained that the partnership included the ability to take photos and videos of callers since then, but dispatchers took some time to get to grips with the new technology before greenlighting its use.
“The concerns about video/live streaming to 911 are obviously the legal issues,” Pharis said. “The Open Records Act does not address how videos should be handled.
“The other thing is making sure that our employees get the mental health care they need because they have coping skills that are developed for what they hear on the phone, but the coping skills that they have developed don’t necessarily apply to what they to belong. can see on a video.”
Morgan County 911 employees have access to Eagle Counseling through a contract.
Apple’s marketing of iOS 18’s video-to-911 feature using iPhone’s Emergency SOS feature last month also played a role in Morgan County’s implementation, according to Pharis.
“We knew people were going to see it more often, so we thought we should probably get started and talk about what we wanted to do with it,” she said.
Despite the marketing, users don’t need an iPhone to send video to Morgan County 911. Pharis said the center can receive images and video from any phone that can send text messages.
There are pros and cons to receiving a video during a call. For example, Pharis said a livestream video requires the attention of a dispatcher that could otherwise be used to answer other incoming calls.
Therefore, Morgan County 911 dispatchers plan to use the capability only when it adds critical information to the call. Pharis said the decision-making process is based on newly developed guidelines and the coordinator’s discretion. Callers do not have the option to send unsolicited images or videos; images and videos must be requested from 911 first.
“There are possibilities for, say, an accident or something like that where you could see a roadblock or maybe other hazards,” Pharis said of the potential benefits of images and video. “They could identify some safety issues for first responders. If someone is in a dangerous situation, this can be used to obtain suspicious information.
“Images can actually be used if you have a missing person call or an AMBER alert. We could receive a photo of that person here at the center, add it to the CAD (computer aided dispatch) call, and any agent could see a photo We could put out a bulletin. That kind of visibility is huge when you’re talking about AMBER alerts.”
Thornton said that while firefighters will still have to assess emergencies on the scene, images or videos sent to 911 can contain useful information that first responders might not otherwise receive through an audio call alone.
“Expatchers are not always able to get the exact details from the caller because in a tense situation they may not always be able to get the information they want,” he said. “If they have something like that, an image or a video, I know that would give them a better ability to direct us and give us more information.”
So far, Pharis said Morgan County dispatchers have not used the livestream feature during an active call since the capability became available. However, she said they used Prepared’s software to find the locations of non-emergency calls. She is exploring expanding the video/image-to-911 capability to a non-emergency hotline.
“For example, if we get storms and trees fall, they can text pictures to the non-emergency line,” she said. “Or if someone wants to report a traffic light, a loose dog, etc. That could reduce our (emergency) call volume.”
– david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.
