Kacee Kleindorfer has worked in Brown County Dispatch since February of this year. She said she loves using Prepared Live as a resource for callers, dispatch and first responders.
Abigail Youmans | The Democrat
A new software package in the Brown County Sheriff’s Dept. is improving the way dispatchers are able to assist callers.
Those calling dispatch who may be lost, or in an accident or domestic dispute, can now allow dispatch to access the caller’s cell phone camera and location by simply clicking a link that dispatch sends the caller.
The web-based software is called Prepared Live and was designed to better connect citizens to emergency call centers.
The service is free and can only be activated by the caller, not the sheriff’s department.
The company was born nearly four years ago when co-founder and CEO Michael Chime started building software for public safety at Yale University. The company’s work included a safety app for universities.
Schools asked the development team how data from students reporting issues could reach 911 services. What they found was outdated technology at 911 call centers that couldn’t accept information other than through phone calls.
The team began Prepared as a startup and launched its service in June last year.
Through this service, 911 dispatchers can send callers a text that connects them to a web-based app, where they can upload media about their given situation.
Whether it’s a photo, video or a live video feed, callers can share information which will be will be used to assist them and responding public safety officers.
Brown County is one of four counties in the state using Prepared, Brown County 911 Director Andrea Oswald said.
She learned about Prepared at the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) Conference in Louisville, Ky., this year, where Prepared had a booth set up. Local dispatch has been using the website for about one month.
The dashboard for Prepared Live, new web-based software being used by Brown County Dispatch that allows dispatch to use the pinpointed locations and live camera feeds of callers, as long as they follow the link sent by dispatch.
Abigail Youmans | The Democrat
How it works
When a caller calls 911 or the administration line, they can opt in to receive a text from dispatch.
In the text will be a link, directing them to Prepared Live.
As long as callers accept the link and tap the play button, a dispatcher can have access to the caller’s camera and location.
Oswald demonstrated Prepared on her own phone, the location on the dispatch screen showing a precise location within the Brown County Law Enforcement building.
Callers can also chat with dispatchers via messaging through the site.
So far, Prepared has been used to assist lost hikers on local trails, those calling in fires, sharing images for missing persons in the county, suspicious situations and abandoned 911 calls.
Dispatch is also able to use it to communicate with the Brown County Highway Dept. if there are trees down on county roads.
Other than location and camera access – to which callers must give consent – no other information on a caller’s phone is accessed by dispatch.
All dispatchers have gone through training on the site, which has been easy to learn and use, Oswald said.
“It’s nice to be able to get the information if (callers) are willing to give it to us,” Oswald said.
In a recent missing juvenile case, dispatch was able to get pictures of license plate numbers involved.
“It was nice to give officers that info ahead of time a bit faster,” Oswald said.
Oswald reiterated that dispatch is not accessing any stored information on a caller’s phone other than what they share via chat, location and camera.
Information received is stored in an archive that can be used for investigations as needed.
“I would like if more people to be willing to give access when we ask to use it,” she said.
“We’re not saving any of their information, we don’t have access to anything else in their phone except for what they send at that time.
“It just helps to get the incident resolved a little bit quicker.”
Being a small department, officers might not be close to an incident reported, she added. If dispatch can obtain more information to share with first responders before they arrive on the scene, there can be an extended response time.
In sensitive issues like verbal or physical domestic situations, Oswald said callers may be hesitant, but they should know that Prepared will allow dispatch and responders to know exactly what’s going on for everyone’s safety.
Sheriff Scott Southerland said it’s a “huge advantage” to have real-time information in live video through the site.
He remembered a situation involving a lost person in the Brown County State Park. They called dispatch and their location pinged to Mail Pouch Lane off of Old State Road 46 through their phone carrier.
“It makes response time a lot quicker,” he said.
