Text-To-911: What You Should Know

Imagine getting a notification from your security camera system that movement is detected in your home. If you are out of the house, you can check the feed and call 911. But what if you get the notification when you are home alone? You can try to escape, but if that is not feasible, your next best bet would be to lock yourself in a room and hide. In this situation, calling 911 could possibly give your location away, but what if you could send a text to 911 to discreetly summon law enforcement?

If you live in Pomona or elsewhere in the Los Angeles County, as of December 1, 2017, you are able take advantage of Text-To-911. This convenient option gives hearing and speech-impaired individuals, along with those in situations in which it is too dangerous to call 911, a potentially lifesaving option. But the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reminds everyone to “Call if you can — text if you can’t“.

Here are the FCC’s guidelines for contacting 911:

• If you can, always contact 911 by making a voice call.

• If you are deaf, hard of hearing or speech disabled, and Text-To-911 is not available, use a TTY or telecommunications relay service, if available.

• If you send a text to 911 and the service is not yet available in your area, you will receive a bounce-back message advising “text is not available please make a voice call to 9-1-1” or use telecommunications relay service (for persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability). Note: Bounce-back messages are intended to minimize your risk of mistakenly believing that a text to 911 has been transmitted to an emergency call center.

• Location accuracy varies by carrier and should not be relied upon. Be prepared to give your location.

• Text-To-911 service will not be available if the wireless carrier cannot ascertain a location of the device sending the message.

• Text-To-911 is not available if you are roaming.

• A text or data plan is required to place a text to 911.

• Photos and videos cannot be sent to 911 as they cannot be received at the 911 center at this time.

• Text messages should be sent in plain language and not contain popular abbreviations (SMH, LOL, ICYMI) or emojis, as they will not be recognized.

• Text-To-911 cannot be sent to more than one person. Do not send your emergency text to anyone other than 911.

• Text must be in English only – there is currently no language interpretation for text available (still in development).

• Remember that the FCC’s Text-To-911 rules do not apply to text messaging applications that do not support texting to and from U.S. phone numbers.

• Text messaging applications that only support texting with other app users or texting via social media are not required to support Text-To-911.

As we all know, texting can be extremely dangerous in certain situations, but in others, such as Text-To-911, it could save lives.

Protect your property with quality CCTV surveillance cameras and equipment from SecurityCamExpert.com. Browse our stock online or call 888-203-6294. Find us on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest for the latest news and updates.