West Central Consolidated Communications (WC3), which provides police dispatch services to Riverside, Brookfield, North Riverside and McCook, launched its text to 911 service, enabling residents to seek emergency aid in situations where they cannot speak with a telecommunicator.
“A lot of times, people aren’t able to communicate. They’re in a situation, and they can’t talk in fear of their own safety, and they’re able to text instead. They can get the information out and get themselves the help that they need,” said Bill Gutschick, WC3’s interim executive director.
People texting 911 should provide their location and briefly describe the nature of the emergency they’re experiencing while being clear and avoiding sending pictures or emojis and using abbreviations, Gutschick wrote in a press release.
He told the Landmark dispatchers still prefer to receive calls for aid rather than texts.
“It’s faster. They can ask questions more effectively on what the situation is all about, where texting takes a little bit longer,” he said. It can also be easier to describe a situation accurately while speaking rather than typing, he added.
Gutschick said the service was created to conform to an Illinois law mandating that all public safety answer points (PSAPs), or dispatch centers, accept emergency texts by the end of the year. He said the program was already in development when he started in his interim role in May.
“I think it’s a good thing. I live quite a distance from here. They already have it out where I live, and I know they’ve been using it for quite a period of time out there already,” he said. “We’ve got it up, and we’re running, and we’re happy with it. It’s another tool in the mix of things.”
