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Text-To-911 System Allows Dispatchers To Follow Up With Those In Need

Emergency response officials say Indiana is a leader when it comes to text-to-911 technology. All of Indiana's dispatch centers use the tool and receive somewhere between 500 and 600 texts a day.

But perhaps the most useful aspect is that dispatchers can be the ones to initiate text conversations.

Monroe County Central Emergency Dispatch started accepting text-to-911 calls two years ago. Communications Manager Jeff Schemmer says it can be useful in several situations, like when an intruder is trying to enter your home or in hostage situations.

"We've had people text us if they were involved in a domestic situation even when they're driving down the road," Schemmer says.

Residents can simply text information to 911, and operators receive it and respond.

Schemmer says Monroe County dispatch received about 160 texts last year.

But he says dispatchers also have the ability to initiate text messages. Schemmer says about 80 percent of 911 calls today come from cell phones, and some of those calls get dropped or disconnected.

"While a lot of times they come back and go, 'Oh, I'm sorry, I accidentally dialed,' there have been instances where they called us requesting help, but the person they're having problems with caught them on the phone and they weren't able to talk," Schemmer says. "This allows us to communicate back and forth with them."

Indiana is the only state where 911 operators can do that. Last year, Monroe County dispatchers initiated about 5,300 outgoing texts.

Schemmer says it shows how important it is to keep up with technology.

"A lot of the technology we're moving forward with is based off that cellular technology and trying to increase the reliability of trying to be able to locate somebody when they're communicating with us through a cell phone," Schemmer says.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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