Audrain County emergency services bring text 911 to county residents

MEXICO, Mo. (KMIZ)

Audrain County 911 emergency services now have the ability to receive 911 text messages through certain carriers.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Amanda Crewse, Audrain County 911 emergency services director, in a release. “This is not only a step toward Next Generation 911 but, it could potentially save lives in incidents such as home invasions, active shooters, domestic violence incidents; essentially any situation where a caller needs to be silent so the assailant doesn’t hear them.”

Officials say this system will not replace the phone call a person may normally make to 911.

“We still live by the creed ‘Call If You Can, Text If You Can’t!’ We need people to call in and talk with a dispatcher as much as possible when experiencing an emergency,” said Crewse.

“Two-way verbal communication is still the best and fastest way to get information so the dispatchers know how to best help the caller. The Text 911 system should only be used when a resident can’t make the call due to circumstances preventing them from doing so because speaking may bring more harm than good to them.”

Currently, the Audrain County 911 system can only accept text characters at this time.

“Unfortunately, the software is not able to accept videos, pictures or emoticons yet,” Crewse said.

If a carrier is not one that allows texts to be sent to 911 systems, the provider should provide a bounce-back text explaining why they are unable to send texts to 911 and to call instead.

Currently, carriers treat text messages to 911 like any other text message. Until the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sets specific guidelines, texts to 911 will not be given any
priority on wireless networks. Emergency texts will be subject to the same service speeds or delays as any other text message, depending on network strength in your area. And as with other
text messages, data rates may apply.