An innovative way to contact police dispatch has now been helping Denton County residents for a full decade.
Denco 9-1-1 celebrated the 10th anniversary of its innovate “Text-to-911” service on Wednesday, Oct. 14, which has offered residents a way to easily and discreetly contact first responders.
The service is often used when a voice call is unsafe or impossible, like during family violence incidents, home break-ins and medical emergencies.
It also gives people who are deaf, hard of hearing or non-speaking an equal way to communicate their need for help.
“Ten years ago, Text-to-911 gave our community another way to reach emergency services when making a voice call was not possible,” said Denco 9-1-1 Executive Director Greg Ballentine. “A decade later, it remains an important part of our commitment to making 9-1-1 accessible to all people, particularly in those moments when every second matters.”
According to Denco, anyone can text 911 by starting a text message to 911, without dashes, and sending over what is happening and the location. A dispatcher will respond by text, and the reporting party can then provide any info the dispatcher needs by text.
Texting 9-1-1 still connects the reporting person with a highly-trained, professional dispatcher as if making a call to 9-1-1.
Denco said calling 9-1-1 is still the preferred method, but is glad to see the text alternative be successful after 10 years. The organization said thousands of text sessions have been used by individuals in the district over the last decade.
“In over 40 years of 9-1-1 progress, Text-to-911 was the vital piece we needed,” said Lewisville Police Department Public Safety Dispatch Manager Connie Allen. “It empowers our team to serve as a silent lifeline, protecting those who cannot safely speak in their most critical moment.”
Text-to-911 is not available nationwide, yet, but was introduced to the Denco 9-1-1 area in 2016. Denco urged citizens to continue utilizing the service, and share awareness of it with friends and family in the area.
“When silence is safety, Text-to-911 delivers,” said Denton Police Department Safety Communications Manager Amber Stanford. “We’re proud to be a Denco 9-1-1 agency providing this vital, lifesaving service to our community.”
Denco serves a large part of Denton County, including 33 municipalities. The district was created by a special election in 1987 and is overseen by a locally-elected or appointed Board of Managers.
The organization provides the network, database, call processing and mapping equipment for the 9-1-1 service, as well as 24/7 system support. It also provides telecommunicator training and 9-1-1 public education.
For more information, visit Denco 9-1-1’s website.
