POSEY COUNTY, Ind. (WEHT) – Thanks to a new program called Live 911, sheriff’s deputies in Posey County are getting a head start on responding to potential emergencies before every getting the assignment from dispatch.
“As somebody calls 911,” explains Deputy Sheriff Steven Albin, “it’ll pop up on our end and actually allow us to listen to that 911 call as it’s coming in. So we’ll actually be able to hear kind of what’s going on before they actually dispatch us somewhere.”
Deputy Albin has been with the department for 3 years and says previously, he would only have information that is relayed to him from dispatch. Now, Albin says he is able to better prepare for what lies ahead.
“You can just listen to a person and just tell when they’re excited or ramped up,” says Albin. “So you can kind of game plan what you’re going to do before you even get there.”
Deputies say this Live 911 program has lowered the response time by up to minutes in some situations, which is crucial in a profession where time is of the essence.
“On those more serious calls, it allows us to see where the call is coming from, and if we’re nowhere near it, we can go ahead and turn around and start going that way,” explains Albin.
In situations where seconds count, the addition of Live 911 could save a life.
“Any opportunity we can get to shave time down on a run, that’s important,” explains Albin.
