Campaign Aims To Let College Students Know About Text To 911

The state board that governs 911 service throughout Indiana says many Hoosiers are now able to text emergency information to dispatchers, and a new state campaign is spreading the word to college students.

A new federal law says by the end of this year, all cell phone carriers must have services in place to let customers send emergency texts to local dispatchers.  Statewide 911 Board Director Barry Ritter says Indiana has had that technology in most of the state since May.  A public awareness campaign that kicks off in October will focus on Ball State, Indiana, and Purdue Universities.

“We targeted three of the universities in Indiana that would have a large number of individuals returning to campus from out-of-state,” he said.

Texts to 911 will be routed to a local emergency dispatch center. If that service is not available, Ritter says the cell phone user will get a text response saying their message did not go through.

The campaign stresses that calling emergency services is still the best option.  Even the campaign’s logo is teaching college students to limit texting 911 to the times when you can’t speak – for those who are hearing- or speech-impaired, when the caller can’t speak because of an emergency medical condition like a stroke, or in cases of abduction or home invasion where it is unsafe to talk.  Ritter says that’s because texting to 911 provides the dispatcher with much less information.

“I know that they do not receive the location or the texter," Ritter said. "They receive the number of the device texting as well as the message, like you would receive in a general text session.”

Ritter says the text-to-911 service is available in Muncie and Bloomington now and will be available in West Lafayette after a few days of final testing.