If you see something text something – or better yet send a picture or video from your smart phone.
That may be the new advertising campaign in the city’s subways system if a bill that Fort Greene City Council Member Laurie Cumbo introduced last week which would upgrade the city’s 911 emergency communications system to receive text messages, videos and photos in addition to voice calls.
“As we enter the next generation of technology, we must ensure that our city’s emergency response system remains in pace and is equipped to connect all New Yorkers with the assistance they require. Through my work as Chair of the Committee on Women’s Issues, this legislation was conceived as a means to support survivors of domestic violence who are often unable to reach out for help due to an immediate threat,” said Cumbo.
” The ability to send photos and video via text will aid police officers with critical information to deter or address criminal activity. Additionally, this bill would help expand our capacity to better communicate with youth, LGBTQ, legal and undocumented immigrants, the deaf, hearing or speech impaired, and mute communities,” she added.
Under the measure, the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (“DoITT”) will create a plan that would allow the public to communicate digitally with emergency responders using the City’s 911 system. The system would allow the public to send digital communications including text messages, videos, and photographs.
DoITT would be required to create this plan within 6 months of the effective date of the local law, and within one year DoITT would be required to either implement that plan or report to the Council the details of this plan and its expected implementation date. Several counties and emergency contact offices in upstate New York have a similar system already in place.
“This bill will help put New York City at the cutting edge of emergency communications. For New Yorkers who are in danger, but hesitate to call 911 because they desire anonymity or because they are under immediate threat and can’t risk their safety with a voice call, this bill will provide an additional way for them to get the help they need,” said bill co-sponsor Mark Levine, who represents the Upper West Side.
