LANSING, Mich. — Lance Langdon, 911 Director for Ingham County Central Dispatch, announced today that Text to 911 is now available to all individuals living in or traveling through Ingham County. Text to 911 is another means of contacting a 911 dispatcher in an emergency situation when a caller is unable to make a voice call. It is important for citizens to know that Text to 911 is a great addition to our dispatch center, but it should be used in a very limited capacity. It is not the preferred method of receiving emergencies. In fact, citizens should follow this guideline; CALL 911 WHEN YOU CAN AND TEXT WHEN YOU CAN’T. We do not anticipate that we will receive many emergencies via text. Most 911 centers currently using text to 911 saw a very low percentage of usage.
Some examples of when texting would be appropriate are in cases where a caller cannot speak. This could be for various reasons such as they do not want a suspect to know they are notifying 911 for help. It is also another tool for our hearing impaired community to get emergency help sufficiently.
Nationwide, it is estimated there are 37 million individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability. Another situation when texting 911 could be used is since text is a service of wireless devices, there are times when there may not be enough coverage in certain areas to make a voice call, but a text could go through as it does not require the same signal strength to deliver a message.
How to text 911 in an emergency (please do NOT do a test - this is an active emergency system only):
- Enter the numbers “911” in the “To” field;
- The first text message to 911 should be brief and contain the location of the emergency and type of help needed
- Push “Send”
- Be prepared to answer questions and follow instructions from the 911 dispatcher.
- Text in simple words – please don’t use abbreviations.
- Keep text messages brief and concise.
- When the session is over, you will be notified when the 911 dispatcher ended the call.
Below are a few things to know if you need to text 911:
- Text location information is not equal to current location technology.
- It is important for people who use smart phones to recognize that text-to-911 will not work on messaging applications that may “look” like SMS texting, but are actually “over the top” applications using features that are not SMS texting, such iPhone messaging
- As with all text messages, 911 messages can take longer to receive, can get out of order, or may not be received.
- Text-to-911 is not available if you are roaming.
- A text or data plan is required to place a text-to-911
- If texting to 911 is not available in your area, or is temporarily unavailable, you will receive a message indicating that texting 911 is not available and to contact 911 by other means.
- Photos and videos cannot be sent to 911 at this time.
- Text-to-911 cannot include more than one person. Do not send your emergency text to anyone other than 911.
- Do not text and drive!
There are 46 out of Michigan’s 83 counties that offer text to 911. Currently most of the counties that border Ingham County do offer text to 911. There are several counties in Michigan actively working on upgrading to receive Text to 911 including some neighboring counties.
For more information, especially for the Deaf, Deafblind, Hard of Hearing, & Speech Disabled, check our website at http://911.ingham.org
Don't forget we also offer the Smart911 service, which allows you to link your cellphone to your home/work address(es) along with providing details of your household that would only show up if you dial 911. That is also available at the 911 website.
