Lincoln announces new emergency communications tech after 911 outages

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – City officials announced a new communications system that will help dispatchers and first responders with emergencies.

The communications technology, Prepared Live, accesses a caller’s phone to show a live video of a crash, fire or any other emergency.  It also provides the caller’s GPS location.

At a press conference Thursday, Assistant Chief of Police Brian Jackson said it would help first responders get a better idea of what an emergency looks like before they arrive.

“When somebody calls in, we have to understand what they need,” he said. “The ability to clearly and effectively obtain that information and get it shared out to officers responding to the scene adds a large component to the officer safety aspect.”

Jessica Loos, manager of the Lincoln Emergency Communications Center, said callers would receive a text asking for permission to access the phone.

“In accepting that notification on their phone, we then have the opportunity to work with them,” she said.

Loos said responders won’t have access to any other apps or personal info on a caller’s phone while connected.

However, dispatchers can collect information during the incident.

The program can also translate 140 different languages and provide texting access for anyone who is deaf or hard of hearing.

Since it’s connected through the internet, the service can be used in scenarios where 911 services are affected by an outage, like the ones that occurred a couple of weeks ago.

Dispatchers in Lincoln have already been testing out the technology for about two months.

Officials said the cost to implement it was about $50,000.