By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
As long as emergency services have been around, dispatchers and first responders have relied on one thing to determine where and what an emergency is: words. That requires accurate descriptions from those involved and relevant questions from dispatchers. Now, Barton County Communications and other dispatch centers around the state are able to utilize video technology from callers.
"The video side is to assist dispatchers in painting the picture for an officer responding to the scene," said Barton County Communications Director Dena Popp. "Not only an officer, but fire and EMS response. Some people can describe it very well, and we can paint the picture off their description. Other times, 'I don't know where I'm at. I don't know how many people are involved.'"
The process is simple: if dispatchers would like to utilize the video technology, they will ask the caller for permission and send a link. Once the caller clicks that link, the dispatcher can then access the live camera feature on that device to see first-hand what is going on. It can be as simple as asking a child to move the camera up so dispatchers can see relevant street signs.
"If we want to access your camera, it's going to send you a link and you have to click it, that yes, I'm going to allow the link," Popp said. "Once it actually shows the camera and the camera is activated, you have to click the 'allow' button again. It's very much caller-controlled."
Popp emphasized that communicating with words is still the faster option, and the video option will only be utilized when dispatchers need more than words to glean information about the emergency. As a benefit, the video collected may be used as evidence in any criminal cases associated with the emergency call.
"It's primarily meant to help the dispatchers but it can be utilized as evidence if it is needed," said Popp. "It's stored on a server at the state site that we can request from the coordinating council. It's stored up to six months that we would have access to it."
Along with the video technology, Barton County 911 also utilizes the What Three Words application to pinpoint a location within 100 square feet anywhere on the continent. Text-to-911 is also available for those unable to speak during an emergency simply by sending a text to the number "911."