David Metcalf
The Whitfield County 911 Center is launching Prepared Live in the dispatch center. Developed by Prepared, the software enables the 911 dispatch center to livestream, receive multimedia, and locations from mobile callers in real-time.
This addition to the technology suite will significantly improve the ability to effectively and efficiently respond to emergencies in the community, said officials.
“We wanted a different way for the citizens to talk to 911 – and this way we can communicate real-time information that we can share with responders,” said 911/EMA Director David Metcalf. “This is the next generation of 911, and I always want to stay in front of that curve.”
Participation in video-chat is voluntary and consent of the caller is required. If the caller consents, a livestream link will be sent via text from the dispatcher, enabling them to activate live video upon click.
It is important to note that the video call function does not provide Whitfield County 911 with access to the contents or settings of the caller’s phone.
This launch follows 20 weeks of preparation and training to ensure the dispatchers and support team are able to properly utilize the software. Working side-by-side with Prepared’s customer success team, the 911 Center has created and adopted policies to ensure that Prepared Live is used effectively in various scenarios.
Prepared, led by co-founders Mike, Dylan, and Neal, is a mission-driven organization with a passion for improving public safety. In creating an app to help mitigate school emergencies, the team discovered valuable data is lost in existing 9-11 processes and set out to address the problem by inventing Prepared Live. Since public launch October of 2021, the product has helped protect over 40 million people in 48 states. To learn more about Prepared and Prepared live, visit Prepared911.com.