TOMS RIVER-Toms River police used newly adopted technology to rescue a boater who couldn’t make it back to shore on Monday.
“As winds picked up today one boater found himself unable to paddle back to the boat ramp. He called 911 and spoke with dispatcher Kassie who’s quick-thinking gave them the tools to locate the stranded boater,” the department said. “He was safely holding onto a dock on the river when Kassie sent him a link for 911Eye, a tool fairly new to telecommunicators. 911Eye allowed our dispatchers to see where he was and gave them GPS coordinates. The team in our Communications Room was able to determine the street he was nearest and send officers right to him.”
911 was originally designed in partnership with West Midlands Fire Service in the United Kingdom. The 911eye service has been developed by Capita Secure Solutions and Services, one of the UK’s leading providers of mission-critical solutions for Emergency Services, Critical Responders and National Infrastructure providers.
911eye does not require anyone to download and install an app. Instead, it works via SMS text message or email. The dispatcher simply sends a text or an email to the smartphone of the caller. By clicking on the URL link contained within the text message or email, a secure ‘one-time-use’ live video stream is enabled (subject to handset compatibility). The stream allows the 911 dispatcher to see the incident, assess how serious it is and decide what and how many resources to deploy. Additionally, the caller’s location, via GPS coordinates, are provided to the dispatcher.
Importantly, no footage is stored on the user’s device. And if the caller has poor signal, or the device doesn’t support video, they can opt to send still photo images instead.
