PITT COUNTY, N.C. — Six months after launching 911 text messaging in Pitt County, officials say the initiative has been successful.
Text messaging has been used twice since the service launched, WTIN reports.
“There’s so many questions that a 911 dispatcher needs to ask,” said Noel Lee, director of Pitt County Emergency Management. “If they can, they need to be calling [response units] and talking to the individual. But in certain cases the caller can’t actually talk, so the text does come in and that’s where it should be used.”
Lee said there has also been several instances of 911 misuse and harassment through text messaging, and the information is referred to police for an investigation.
The service is available through Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T.