MORGAN COUNTY, Alabama — When you dial 911 on your phone, the call most likely goes to a dispatch center. In certain situations, every detail is crucial. Thanks to some relatively new technology coming to Morgan County 911. every detail can be given to first responders.
Morgan County 911 is taking advantage of new tech. "Prepared" is provided to this dispatch office by the Alabama 911 board. They now have the ability to receive photos, video and livestream from a phone. All dispatchers need to do is enter a phone number. A link is then sent to that phone number. After the user allows the use of video and microphone, the dispatcher now has access to the phone's camera.
"We are looking at the responder's safety as being a huge focus, as well as the caller's safety," said Morgan County 911 Director Jeanie Pharis, "Having an image or an idea of what maybe a suspect looks like, or a scene looks like, before they get there can greatly prepare them for how they're going to approach that scene."
Pharis said the agency doesn't want to overuse this new tool and wants to keep response times a priority. She said, "We want to make sure that we have our call takers available to take other 911 calls instead of live streaming things that may not really need to be livestreamed."
She said in the couple of months they've had access to using this element, they haven't really needed to use it. However, they've utilized the text features on occasion.
Officials are also aware some people may have privacy concerns. The Alabama Open Records Act doesn't discuss anything about photos or videos that may wind up on the county's database. Pharis said, "There's really not clear legislation on how to handle this."
She also said they're going to treat photos and videos similar to how they treat calls. "If an agency wants to release information, we will send it to them and they can release it as they choose to do so," said Pharis, who adds anyone can make a public records request for those elements, as well.