The state of New Jersey announced Wednesday that residents and visitors can now text 911 when they are in an emergency, no matter where they are located in the state.
The program was launched as an alternative method to calling 911 should the person in need of help not be able to make a call due to a dangerous situation.
The program also helps those who have trouble hearing or speaking when making phone calls.
Dave Weinstein, the Chief Technology Officer for New Jersey, said the following in a press release:
“There is perhaps no greater reason than public safety for government to keep pace with today’s technology trends. Every citizen now has an alternative, ubiquitous communication channel for interacting with emergency services personnel.”
Each of the 21 counties in the state had a central dispatch for text messages by the end of July, according to Weinstein.
New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino said, “There are circumstances in which people witnessing suspicious activity, people in danger, or people desperately in need of medical help cannot talk – but are able to text.”
911 dispatchers prefer to handle emergencies via phone call, but understand the situation won’t always warrant or allow for a call.
The national slogan for the program is “Call When You Can, Text When You Can’t.”
The New Jersey Office of Information Technology produced an informational video about text to 911 that you can watch below.
Chris Rodriguez, the Director of Homeland Security and Preparedness for New Jersey, said, “Texting to 9-1-1 may be the only safe way to reach help in active shooter situations such as the recent night club shooting in Orlando. All the phone user has to do is type the numbers 911 in the address line and include an address, and help will be summoned as quickly as possible.”
The program will also help those who have hearing or speech impairments who need assistance from police, fire or medical personnel.
David Alexander, the Director of the New Jersey Division of Deaf and and Hard of Hearing, said, “The new ‘Text-to-9-1-1’ system being announced today achieves the goal of making 9-1-1 fully accessible to everyone.”
“For the first time in history, people who are unable to speak or hear on a phone can communicate directly with a 9-1-1 dispatcher using text messaging. There is no longer any need for people with hearing loss or speech disorders to use specialized equipment or third party relay services to contact 9-1-1 as required in the past.”
You will not be able to send images or videos via text message to a 911 dispatcher.
Also, ensure you stay in the conversation until told to exit by a 911 dispatcher.
The press release also provided instructions for sending a text message to 911. They are as follows:
How do I send a text to 9-1-1?
1. Open the message app on your phone or wireless device
2. In the “To” field type “911” with no punctuation
3. In the message field, type the location, (address and municipality) and a brief description of the problem (e.g., 1234 E Main St Franklin Twp I hear someone breaking in)
4. Then press “Send” Be prepared to answer questions and follow instructions from the 9-1-1 call taker. Keep text messages brief and concise.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons: By nadbasher – http://www.flickr.com/photos/67755197@N00/1022266699/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12646850
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