So the dispatcher looked at the Smart911 screen and realized the woman was calling from Willow Knoll Retirement Community. Without the service, the dispatcher couldn’t have narrowed her search, thus delaying the response time, said Shelley Meehan, communication supervisor for the Middletown Division of Police.
“It worked,” Meehan said of the Smart911 service. “It’s very beneficial to have it.”
After hearing success stories like these, Meehan said she’s disappointed more Butler County residents haven’t registered for the free service. The countywide service allows residents to provide details that 911 dispatchers may need in order to assist them during an emergency.
That might include contact information for family members, specific location in an office building where someone works, names and ages of those living in the house, vehicle description and even any pets living with them.
In August 2018, Butler County law enforcement agencies started using the Smart911 software. There are 3,609 Butler County residents who have registered accounts, said Jason Warren, technician with the Butler County Sheriff’s Office. He said 538 of those have signed up since Jan. 1, 2019.
Butler County subscribes to the service at a cost of $49,500 annually. The cost is based on the number of dispatchers who use the data, according to Capt. Matt Franke.
The Butler County Sheriff’s Office does the majority of dispatching emergency 911 calls in the county, but there are dispatchers answering the phones in a few satellite locations. The county dispatches for 12 townships, Hamilton, Oxford and the villages. Fairfield, Middletown, Monroe, Trenton and West Chester Twp. have their own centers.
Meehan said the Smart911 makes the job of dispatchers and first-responders “so much easier” because of the valuable information it provides. The information gives first-responders a heads-up of what they may encounter when they arrive, Meehan said.
“It could be anything,” she said.
The increase in cell phones as primary phones can add to location confusion, Frank said. He said when BCSO 911 dispatchers received a call from a woman involved in an auto crash, the call got disconnected. When dispatchers looked at the woman’s Smart911 account, they learned when she lives and works and they started checking her route, Franke said.
Before they could find her, she called back. But Franke said this is an example of the effectiveness of the service.
“It gives us something, a starting point,” he said. “It’s not perfect, but it’s the best we got.”
Franke said the service is especially helpful when the sheriff’s office receives a call from Oxford, home of Miami University. Since most of the students are out-of-state residents, their area codes are different, so dispatchers have no information about the caller’s location.
Franke said the new technology allows dispatchers to understand that a call with a Chicago area code may be coming from a Miami University student. That increases the chance of emergency personnel arriving quicker, he said.
He also recommended that parents of Miami students register for the service.
Smart911 technology also allows dispatchers and callers to communicate by texting, Meehan said. This is useful if the caller has difficulty talking or hearing or if that person is unable to talk because they’re hiding from a potential attacker in the house.
Meehan and Franke said some residents may be reluctant to register for the service because of “privacy issues.” But they said safeguards are in place to protect sensitive information, noting dispatchers only have access to the data if that specific number calls 911 and the information is shown only for 45 minutes.
There is no charge to residents for Smart911, and it only includes data they choose to share.
HOW TO SIGN UP FOR SMART911
Go to Smart911.com
Create your profile. Enter as much information as you wish. First responders want to know anything about you that could be helpful if you call 911. That could include family members, photos, medical notes, pets, car make and model, and emergency contacts.
The system is private and secure, and it works with cell phones and landlines.
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