Few people have been using a 911 texting service in Delaware County since it started about a month ago, a 911 training coordinator for Delaware County said.
Indiana Statewide 911 is pushing the Text-to-9-1-1 service on Indiana college campuses.
Barry Ritter, Indiana Statewide 911 board director, said they wanted to make sure people on the three campuses who may be new to Indiana or returning to school know about the concept.
The 911 text goes to the city 911 center, much like a call from a cell phone would. The problems with texts, Ritter said, is that dispatchers cannot trace the location of the text and there is less information received than they would get from an actual voice call.
“In Indiana that’s our message, it’s always ‘Before you text, voice is always best’ because it’s always better for the communication specialist to speak with you as well as receive that associated information with your phone call,” Ritter said.
This service is mainly directed toward those who are deaf or hard of hearing or speaking impaired and require emergency services. But Ritter said it would also be helpful for people in situations where they aren’t able to make a voice call, or it isn’t safe to do so.
As people get used to having this service as an option and the popularity of it grows across the nation, more people might start to take advantage of it, said Contessa Stilts, a 911 training coordinator for Delaware County.
“It’s a new type of thing, the same concept as when cell phones came out.” said. “People would still drive home and then call us, they wouldn’t use cell phones to call.”
She said another aspect of why people might not be using the service is the missing security of hearing someone’s voice and knowing for sure they are getting help. Texts lack the personal interaction.
Panic in emergency situations could also prevent someone from utilizing the service. Stilts said people might be scared when they’re texting, and not respond, or they just want help to come and they don’t want to answer the questions dispatchers are asking them.
“When we’re talking on the phone with somebody and they’re very upset or very scared, we can use certain techniques and calming techniques to get through to somebody and have them answer specific questions we need to ask,” Stilts said. “With texting in general, it’s hard to show that emotion or empathy.”
In Delaware County, the only carriers that accept 911 texts are Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile, and texts can only be received at the Delaware County Emergency Communications Center.
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