Now You Can Text 911 In An Emergency In Aurora
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)- Aurora's 911 dispatchers are able to receive and respond to emergency requests sent by text message.
Police believe the text-to-911 option can by used by those who are in a situation when a voice call may increase their danger, who have limited cell phone reception or who are hearing impaired.
Testing for the text 911 program with four major carriers, Verizon, AT&T, Spring and T-Mobile, was completed June 2. Dispatchers in Aurora have been trained on how to handle and respond to Text-to-911 messages.
"Phone calls to 911 are still the easiest way to alert police and fire about emergency situations and provide the fastest response and communication," said Diane Culverhouse, director of Aurora's Public Safety Communications Department, in a statement. "However, we know that in some cases, a phone call may not be possible or be the safest option, so Text-to-911 offers an alternative way to reach out for help when it's needed most."
Additional Information from Aurora:
Users should understand and follow these guidelines for Text-to-911:
- Provide address or specific location and description of the emergency in initial text message.
- Photos and videos are not supported.
- Messaging apps like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger that utilize data networks are not supported, only text messages sent using cellular networks.
- Dispatchers will reply to text messages using their phone system.
- If Text-to-911 service is not available (using tower outside a jurisdiction that does not support Text-to-911, using a roaming cellular network, etc.), the user should receive a bounce-back text indicating an error.
- Unlike phone calls to 911 using mobile phones, Text-to-911 requires the phone to be on a service contract with a cellular provider.
- Text-to-911 should be treated the same as phone calls to 911 and reserved for emergencies and urgent matters, not for non-emergency questions or tips. All other public safety communication should be made via phone call to non-emergency dispatch at 303.627.3100.
