New program will allow local law enforcement live video feeds of 911 calls

Local law enforcement and first responders will now be able to use 911 callers’ cellphones to see live video feeds and pictures.

The new system, Prepared Live, allows dispatchers to text a web link to emergency callers that, if followed, will allow them to take video of emergency situations to provide responders with the Cape Girardeau Police Department, the Cape Girardeau Fire Department and 911 call centers with better knowledge of situations at the scene and real-time GPS coordinates, according to a release from police department public information officer Cpl. Ryan Droege. The GPS is accurate to within 20 feet, Droege said during a demonstration of the program Wednesday.

The technology is also being used by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office and Dispatch Center.

The program requires the caller give permission through each individual step to ensure the 911 caller is OK with their phone being used.

Once the caller disconnects, the 911 operators will no longer have access to the phone.

Droege said in an email Tuesday morning that this will give officers and communicators a better idea of where callers are located and what is going on.

“So much information is lost when a person tries to verbally describe a person or situation to another person under the best circumstances,” Droege said. Add in the stress/fear/anxiety of an emergency situation, and “it is only natural for information to be missed.”

Cape Girardeau is among 30 cities in the U.S. that use the program. It has no additional cost to the department and does not require additional equipment or personnel.

Droege said Wednesday he expects that their will eventually be a cost along with the program, but if that happens, the city may be willing to pay it, depending on the benefits.

“If we can justify it, we can justify it,” he said.

LaDonna Beard, communications manager, said she heard about Prepared Live from a news release. She expressed interest, went to a training session and the program was live within about a week.

Both Beard and Droege acknowledged there will be confusion for some over how the program works and others who are unwilling to use it. However, they said the information they can get will be invaluable to first responders.

“For us to have real-time visual access will be a game-changer, eliminating a lot of missing or wrong information,” Droege said in an email Tuesday.

“Each additional layer of information empowers our 911 operators to deploy the most effective response for both emergency and non-emergency situations,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.