CLOVIS, California (KSEE) – In this new-age of ever changing technology, Clovis Police is finding a more advanced way to respond to emergencies.
The police department is testing out new software allowing officers in the field to listen in on 911 calls as they come into the dispatch center.
Typically, when you call 911 it goes straight to the dispatch center, they put the information you give into a computer system, then send that out to a police dispatcher.
“Even though our dispatchers are super fast and do great work, depending on how busy it is, it can take a minute and a half to two minutes to get that information out to the officers in the field,” said Lt. Jim Munro with the Clovis Police Department.
But thanks to new cutting-edge technology, Clovis Police officers can now listen to 911 calls live in their patrol cars, helping them respond to emergencies faster.
“What that does is it gives the officer a sense of the emergency, it allows them to put some context to the call, they can actually hear voice tone, what’s happening,” he said.
Clovis Police is one of three agencies nationwide using this new “Live 911” software. Munro calling it a game-changer.
“We’ve never had the opportunity in my 22 years here to hear 911 calls live as they come in, so for the officers to be able to hear it in the car it’s going to save response times, they’re going to get there sooner and they’ll have a lot more details,” Munro said.
He says all 911 calls will still go through dispatch, but if an officer hears a call and is nearby, they can let dispatch know they are on their way.
Officers have the option to silence that feature if they are busy on another call.
Munro says the cost of the software is minimal. Right now, he says their department is testing it out for six months and using money from the department’s general fund.
“It’s become a really handy tool for us, we’ve had some good success with it so far,” Munro said.
