The Wayne County 911 Center is rolling out its new text-to-9-1-1 service.
Officials said the service allows community members to contact emergency responders by text messaging when it may not be possible to place a voice call.
Greg DeWolf is 911 Operations Manager for Wayne County
“We can see this being a great tool for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, or maybe somebody who has a medical emergency and aren't able to talk, or especially someone where making a sound, a voice call, might be dangerous,” he said. “A home invasion, domestic violence, somewhere along those lines."
DeWolf urged the community to use the new service only when a voice call isn't possible.
“The entire program is set up on, 'Call if you can, text if you can't.’ It's just a nationwide approach to this,” he said. “It's a great backup for times when a voice call is not safe. But we can get the best information from a voice call. It's more accurate, it's faster, it's real-time communication."
He said the system has been tested for a few months and the four major wireless carriers, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon are delivering messages to 911.
DeWolf said it’s a crime to text or call 911 with a false report, and prank texters can be tracked down.