Imagine then the frustration of a panicked citizen who calls 911 from their mobile device only to see the police car or ambulance pull over 300 yards away. Most citizens have a smartphone with a map application, so naturally they assume that if they make a call to 911, the dispatcher automatically knows their location. Some of the technologies that are making NG911 become a reality are in use now and already showing their influence over the changing the role of the 911 dispatcher. This will become useful not just for in-the-moment dispatching and decision making, but also for tracking and reporting response times, incident information, and other data. Dispatchers are also gaining access to additional data from the agencies’ records management systems and access to shared databases across jurisdictions, and across different types of emergency response and government agencies. “The emphasis is to allow the public to better inform the responders about what's going on, whether it's enhanced location information or providing multimedia pictures and video,” said McQuade.Īlthough NG911 is in various stages of deployment, technology providers like Tyler Technologies are developing software and apps that are compliant with NG911 standards and can support text messages for emergencies. “Driven by the belief that it is vital Americans receive a consistent level of 9-1-1 service no matter where they live or where they travel,” NENA: The 9-1-1 Association is leading the charge to develop a next-generation 911 (NG911) system that takes advantage of capabilities such as text and video messaging. Consequently, they are missing out on potential capabilities that can accelerate an emergency response and help save lives. Most calls to 911 are made from a cellphone, but many 911 systems in use today were never designed to receive calls and data. Like of the rest of law enforcement, 911 services have undergone profound changes driven by the internet, cloud-based software and mobile technology. It also puts the dispatcher in a closer and more active role that McQuade describes as “part detective and part air-traffic controller.” Moment by moment they may be directing multiple incident responses, while simultaneously surfacing background information of relevance to responders.Īs CAD tools continue to evolve, so will the role and duties for those responsible for mission-critical communications during an emergency response. Responders don't always have the luxury of looking at their computer, said McQuade, but knowing the dispatcher is seeing the exact information at their workstation that the responding officer would see on his or her computer builds trust that the information the dispatcher is giving them is correct. “Every agency is able to look at every agency's information,” said McQuade. The ability to access information from various databases and then share that with other responders has become a game changer that adds value for first responders. Today’s dispatch is no longer just answering 911 calls – evolving technologies are making the job of a 911 dispatcher both more efficient and more challenging. “You would grab the critical call information, the location, the caller's name, call back number, basic details of what's going on, and then broadcast it for the units to respond,” said McQuade, who has parlayed 27 years of experience as a 911 dispatcher and consolidated public safety answering point (PSAP) operations manager into a career at Tyler Technologies, where he works with their computer-aided dispatch (CAD) software solutions.
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