Lee County begins text 911 system
Lee County residents who might not be able to safely use their phone in an emergency now have a new option — they can text 911.
The county began its new “text 911” system last Wednesday.
The texting 911 system is meant to help those who are hard of hearing, domestic violence victims and others reporting emergencies who may not be able to speak with emergency responders over the phone and so allows them to text their emergencies to dispatchers.
“This new technology will be a tremendous improvement for people with hearing impairments, domestic violence victim and others in dangerous situations where it is unsafe to make a voice call,” said Lee County Commission Chair Cecil Pendergrass, who made the announcement at a press conference announcing the program on Wednesday.
The county allocated $2.9 million for “next-generation 911,” Pendergrass said. The project to upgrade the 911 system is being funded through the cell phone bills of Lee County residents.
Benjamin Abes, Lee County director of Public Safety, said residents should still call 911 if they can, but text 911 if they can’t. Reasons for texting 911 include being deaf or hard-of-hearing or being involved in an emergency that might make calling unsafe — a domestic violence situation, a home invasion or an active-shooter incident, Abes said. Those experiencing a medical event which makes it difficult to speak, can also use the text 911 system.
“Start your text with your location and the nature of your emergency and be prepared to answer the call taker’s questions,” Abes said. Currently, photos and videos can’t be accepted through the text 911 system though Pendergrass said that is being worked on.
“Every text will be responded to as if it was a call to 911,” Abes said. Those who make 911 text messages from throughout the county will be responded to by dispatchers from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and Department of Public Safety’s Division of Emergency Communications, the county’s fire and EMS communications center, he said.
Abes said the new texting system is the first of several new major public safety technology initiatives and is “the tip of the iceberg in the board’s programmatic and financial commitments to public safety.”
The county has issued the following guidelines for texting 911:
Do:
– Enter 911 in the “To” field (do not use dashes between numbers)
– Give your exact location and type of emergency.
– Keep it brief.
– Be prepared to answer questions and follow instructions from the 911 call taker.
Do not:
– Do not use slang, abbreviations, GIFs, or emojis.
– Do not send to more than one person; group texts are not received.
– Do not text and drive.
– Do not send photos and videos (the county is working on making this a future option for next spring)
The Lee Board of County Commissioners has also announced other public safety initiatives including:
– The operational launch of the new Government Communications Network P25 project in February 2022, improving the capacity and resiliency of countywide emergency communications.
– The arrival of Next Generation 911 in April 2022, allowing the public to share videos, images and texts with emergency call centers and improving the handling of 911 calls in Lee County.
For additional information about texting 911, please visit the county’s website at www.leegov.com/911.