The Paradise Valley Police Department is expected to provideParadise Valley Town Council an overview of how Smart911works and how it can be a new tool likely to significantly improve police response times.
Smart911 lets you fill out personal information on a secure website and if you ever need to call 9-1-1, that information will be seen by the dispatcher so they can dispatch accordingly, according to Paradise Valley Community Resource Officer Kevin Albert.
If a user enters all family members? contact information, including cell phone numbers, their information will show up as well, Officer Albert says.
The program also provides a ?panic button? for schools and church users, which in the event of an active-shooter situation, allows the application to show police officials the exact location, via GPS, of where the person who pushed the panic button and anyone else who has the APP.
The application comes at an annual cost of $4,500, according to town officials.
?The information you have to provide is only your name and phone number,? said Officer Albert Jan. 15 at department headquarters. ?This information is already out there — it?s just basic information.?
About 70 percent of cellular 9-1-1 calls are misdials, which is time consuming for dispatchers but with the new APP the department now has the ability to text with the caller via his or her cell phone, Officer Albert says.
?It is truly going to save time,? he said of the importance of rapid response during emergency situations. ?We are ahead of the curve on this and it is another reason we are excited about this program.?
Paradise Valley Mayor Michael Collins says he wants to see the department provide some kind of performance metrics to gauge the success of the APP?s use and reliability.
?We need to be goal driven,? he said at department headquarters Jan. 15. ?If we don?t have goals and steps to accomplishing those goals this could become new technology on the shelf. One of the questions I am going to be asking is ?what are your goals???
Sources: Smart911, Newszap Arizona