LEE COUNTY, Fla. — The Lee County Sheriff's Office Communications Center answers thousands of 911 calls a year. A new program the department launched is intended to help dispatchers communicate better with 911 callers.
It's called Prepared 911, and the AI technology has several features such as translating a call.
"Prior to Prepared 911, we had to go through an interpreter and it was a series of waiting and holding," said Bridget Martin, a dispatcher and a Communications Training Coordinator at the sheriff's office.
WATCH BELOW TO SEE HOW IT COULD HELP PEOPLE CALLING 911:
Public Information Officer Julie Sin says the language barrier was a big thing they were trying to get over within the last couple of years. The interpreter was through a third party vendor called Language Line.
"That could take anywhere between six and eight minutes before we then start responding to them and understanding why they were calling 911," Sin said. "That means it’s slowing down response time for deputies in a dire situation."
Last year, LCSO took over 12,000 calls from people who did not speak English and 89% of those calls were Spanish speaking.
With Prepared 911, Sin says it cuts out the middle man for translation and can identify more than 30 languages.
"It determines what language they’re speaking, it then translates that on screen to our call taker," she said. "Our call taker can then type back and then it translates back into that language."
It's spoken to the person calling 911.
Aside from the language barrier, sometimes it's hard to get someone's exact location. Sin says they can use cell phone towers to narrow it down, but it's not exact.
"With this location service, we're able to send them that link and we're able to get a location within 10 feet of that person," she said.
The dispatcher will send you a link, requesting access to your location.
"If you’re calling from the middle of the ocean or the middle of the gulf, we’re able to locate them much easier with this location sharing service," Sin explained. "This is lowering our response time."
Then, if necessary, you can approve access to your camera.
"Having this live view actually takes them [dispatchers] to the scene and they can see what is happening around them," Sin said.
With this feature, Sin says they can see what's happening, get information about a suspect and more.
You can also send photos and videos to dispatchers using this link, which Sin says can help deputies before they get there.
For domestic violence situations, Sin says dispatchers can turn the screen black so someone doesn't know you're calling 911. But, they can still hear and see what's going on.
Once the call ends, they no longer have access to your camera. However, they can save the media for the investigation, if it warrants that.
Martin says the call has already helped someone in Lee County.
Last week, an elderly couple got lost on a trail and they called 911 for help.
"Our Prepared 911 software was able to send a link to their cell phone so we could locate their location and then we sent a media link so we can see them in person," she explained.
The couple said they were thirsty, so a first look at them could help dispatchers evaluate the situation.
Martin says they were able to direct them back and deputies got to their exact location.
The sheriff's office says the technology will be beneficial for everyone.
