Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 4030 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: FEBRUARY 2017 by Cynthia Brown I t was just over a year ago when the Keller Police Department in Texas received a frightening call. A seven-year-old girl, who knew enough to call 911 after her mother collapsed, could not provide her loca- tion. “We had a hard time fig- uring out where she was,” Keller Police Chief Michael Wilson remembered. “It took us six minutes to find that little girl and her moth- er.” This incident and others like it where the police are not able to pinpoint the location of a person who needs help because the call is coming in from a cell phone, was all the incentive anyone would need to look for a technology that would solve the problem. “A lot of the time spent in dispatch on a 911 call is obtaining a location and the nature of the emergency,” said Keller Chief of Police Michael Wilson. But with a new phone app called SirenGPS, those questions are answered be- fore the 911 dispatcher even answers the phone. The app allows the user to dial 911 and select the nature of the emergency whether it’s a call for the police, EMTs or firefighters. Instantly, the dispatcher can see the type of emergency, who is calling and exactly where the call came from all pinpointed on a map. “The reality is Uber can find you faster and easier than traditional 911 tech- nology because they use an app-based product with GPS technology,” noted Warren Dudley, a long time law enforcement veteran who heads up NETCOM 9-1-1, the Northeast Tarrant County Communications Center that serves nearly 98,000 people in the cit- ies of Keller, Colleyville, Southlake and Westlake in Texas. Through the end of October 2 016 , N E T- C O M 9 - 1 - 1 answered more t h a n 3 6 , 018 emergency calls for service. Traditional 911 centers can- not pinpoint the location of the caller if they are using a cell phone as opposed to a land line, Dudley explains. “Over 80 percent of our center’s calls are now com- ing from cell phones. If we can’t locate the caller’s exact location, response times are longer and lives are at risk. “But we found a technol- ogy that looks like it is solv- ing the problem and that is huge.” It works like this. Citizens download the free SirenGPS app onto their smart phones and enter crucial information about themselves including name, medical history and emergency contacts when they sign up. If there is an emergency the caller uses the app to dial 911 which works basi- cally the same as calling from your cell phone. But if you are in our service area, we will get a pindrop on our map with your information, request for service, and an audible voice notice that you called and need assistance. Some cell calls go to other dispatch centers because of cell tower location or the towers are full of other calls. But we can still see someone needs assistance in our call- ing area and send resources even if we don’t get an actual phone call. Police can also receive pin drop notifications if cell service is out if the caller still has access to a WiFi network. On January 3rd the Keller Police Department received a pin drop requesting a po- lice and an audible tone on the SirenGPS screen, but there was no phone call. The pin drop was in the service area, but right at the border of three cities. Dispatchers were already in the process of contacting the caller and sending police when the 911 call was trans- ferred to the agency from another city. For people who are not familiar which jurisdiction or city they are in, this is valuable time spent trying to figure it out. Police, fire, and EMS units in the field also have access to the Si- renGPS mapping so they see the same infor- mation as the dispatcher for more accurate location and faster medical aid. Dudley went on to note that during the agency’s trial runs, pinpoints marking the location of the caller were dropping on the map at the dispatch center before the phone even rang. Dudley explained that there are huge benefits when the caller cannot speak be- cause doing so would put them in danger, because of a medical emergency, there are language barriers, or whatever. “With SirenGPS we know in an instant where callers are and what they need,” Dudley added. In addition to 911 locat- ing services, the Keller P.D. is switching its emergency mass notification system to the SirenGPS platform. Emergency notification sub- The Tech Team! Warren Dudley, the Communications` Manager; Dispatcher Kierston Martz, and Keller Police Chief Mike Wilson. scribers may continue to re- ceive alerts via phone, email and text, but the app users will also begin receiving emergency communications via optional push notifica- tions. Users will have the ability to respond to those alerts via text, corresponding with emergency officials in a group or with private chats. Dudley points out that the big challenge now is reaching out to the citizens and educating them about why it’s essential that they download the free app onto their phones. “We have figured out which groups are the most likely users of SirenGPS and we are making serious efforts to reach out to these people,” Dudley said. “We have a lot of work ahead of us to spread the word, but we are committed to the program and we are determined to convince our citizens that this technology could save their lives. “The great aspect of the app is that we do not sacri- fice traditional 911 service to gain information. “Anyone can use a tra- ditional phone to call 911 and get all the resources we had before. However, those people who sign up for SirenGPS and use it to dial 911 in our service area will be giving us more accurate location and medical infor- mation so we can respond faster and more efficiently.” For more information on Si- renGPS, visit www.sirengps. com. Over 80 percent of our center’s calls are now coming from cell phones, meaning response times are longer and lives are at risk. Hello 911? There’s a man that’s been following me for half an hour and he’s really scaring me. I’m from out of state and I have no idea where I am. Please send help! GPS helping police help people in need SirenGPS is all about helping cops leverage technology to get where they are going faster A NEW TECH TOOL