A Fla. sheriff’s office will have access to media sent in by 911 callers, thanks to new program

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office rolled out a new technology that will allow callers to send media directly to dispatchers during 911 calls

By Joanna Putman
Police1

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida county has announced a new program for its 911 dispatch center, ABC 7 reports.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office announced that through its partnership with Motorola, it will be launching a program that allows callers to share photos and videos to the dispatch center during calls.

The technology, called “Citizen Input,” utilizes a link sent to a caller’s phone by the dispatcher, according to the report. The caller must say that they have photos to share with the department; then that person can upload the media to the link sent to the phone used to call 9911.

These photos and videos can help the dispatcher better identify the reason for the call and can be sent to deputies who will be responding to the call.

“That’s going to help not only on response times but also the deputies when they go to the calls; they know what they are looking for,” Communications Operations Manager Amy Tuff told ABC 7.

Currently, Collier County Sheriff’s Office is one of the only departments making use of this technology, the report states.

“We’re trying to lead the way,” Tuff said.

Video livestreaming during the call is also available with the service, which is already active in the county.