The Clovis Police Department has implemented a new system that has allowed it to respond to calls quicker and more efficiently.
Live 911 is a new software officers use that allows them to listen in on 911 calls made to dispatch, making it easier to respond quickly to emergencies.
“They can hear the tone in the person’s voice and what they are saying,” said Clovis Police Lt. Jim Munro. “And they can hear the small minute details that sometimes may not get passed along over the radio, just due to airtime and such.”
Munro said that it sometimes takes as long as a minute and a half for the information to get from the dispatcher to the officers, and Live 911 has made that entire process quicker and more streamlined.
“Our dispatchers do a great job and they are usually rather quick, but just depending on how busy it is, sometimes things take a little bit longer than we would like them to,” he said.
The new system has helped save lives, Munro said.
As an example, 911 dispatch recently received a call regarding a medical emergency. Fire and ambulance services were sent out to the scene, but because a police officer was able to listen in on the call, she was able to get there quickly and perform CPR to resuscitate the person.
“That was a good example of how Live 911 has been used and we have had a lot of great feedback from our officers,” Munro said. “They are really enjoying it.”