The Dubuque Emergency Communications Center offers a service allowing 9-1-1 callers to text and livestream with emergency dispatchers.
The service, a software platform called Prepared Assist, enables the 9-1-1 dispatch center to livestream, receive multimedia, and receive location information from mobile callers in real-time.
This additional option does not change how residents should report an emergency. All emergency calls should still begin with a phone call to 9-1-1. Participation in the text/livestream service is completely voluntary, and consent of the caller is required. If the caller agrees, they will receive a livestream link via text from the dispatcher, enabling them to activate live video or send photos and details about their exact location.
Prepared was created by three Yale University students hoping to help mitigate school emergencies. In their research, they discovered that valuable data is lost in existing 9-1-1 processes and set out to address the problem. Since the software’s public launch in October of 2021, Prepared Assist has been instituted by communities in more than 48 states with a combined population of more than 40 million people.