In my last Tech Talk post, I wrote about a murder victim who text messaged a friend in a frantic attempt to save her life as well as those of her two young daughters.
Connecticut State Police has implemented a "Text a Tip" program, but needs to do more.
Jacky Saulnier posted a question on Tech Talk that got me thinking:
“This begs the question: What about texting to 911? I assume it’s not possible, but can it be? Should it be? Especially in situations like this, where the person in danger needs to remain quiet.”
I called Sgt. Chris Johnson of the Connecticut State Police seeking an answer.
The state police does not have such a system in place, he said. Nor do they have any such systems under development.
Anyone in an emergency situation should call 911 even if it is too dangerous to say anything, Johnson said.
“We’ll assume it’s an emergency,” he said. “If we don’t get an answer, we’ll call back and see if we can get someone on the line.”
He said if no one answers the call from the 911 dispatcher, police officers will be sent using tools available to pinpoint the caller’s location.
It is easier to trace a call, however, originating from a land line than from a cell phone, he said.
But, the state police does have text messaging capabilities available.
In a fatal accident that resulted in the loss of the lives of two teenagers in Orange teenagers last month, the state police asked anyone with any information to contact them via phone or text message.
In fact, the state police, as well as several local police agencies, welcome tips via text message for any case.
All you have to do is text “TIP711” plus a message to CRIMES (274637).
However, the agency strongly warns on its Web site that the service is “not to be used to report crimes or to be used for reporting emergencies. For emergencies, call 911.”
My take on this is simple: Police departments need to begin to study the implementation of a text-based emergency system. As our society continues to place a greater emphasis on technology, and specifically on smart phones, law enforcement agencies must keep up to ensure our safety.
While it may not be as easy to pinpoint the exact location of a device as easily as a land line, it could be relayed to the public that they have to be specific with their emergency reporting because the reality is land lines are not always as accessible as cellular devices.
The murder victim I had described earlier was extremely specific in her reporting of where she was to her friend. According to the Hartford Courant, she wrote of herself, her husband and her daughters: “I am back in bedroom. Erica in basement. Shannon front bedroom. He has large knife too, hurry. No joke he is going to kill me.”
Users reporting false reports should prosecuted as if they reported such an incident via the traditional land-based 911 system. However, as an increasing percentage of the society abandons land lines in favor of cellular devices, public safety could be at risk if public safety personnel rely exclusively on technology dating back decades.
As such technology advances, emergency personnel could track users’ cell phones making the potential success of such technology better, and potentially saving lives. The only risk is to wait to implement such technology.
In fact, Singapore and Northern Ireland police have similar technology already in use, and Michigan law enforcement officials are studying similar approaches. Connecticut officials should be next.
RELATED TECH TALK ENTRY:
For the past two years, my cell phone has been my sole telephone. I think it is imperative that all states work towards developing some sort of texting service or emergences that would allow people to send detailed descriptions of where they are and what is occurring. Being able to send this silent pleas could be the only way someone could save themselves and others in a crisis situation. Perhaps wireless service providers could work with law enforcement to develop something similar to the current “9″ function (holding down 9 dials 911) for a text message. And iPhone app developers should create a free app that would send the GPS location of a phone user to the nearest police station.
Comment by Nancy H. — July 14th, 2009 @ 3:24 pm