The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office has launched a new tool to aid in emergency situations: Text-to-9-1-1. Sheriff Dale Schmidt says that customers of the four major wireless carriers- AT&T, Sprint, Verizon & T- Mobile- along with US Cellular and Cricket, can now send text messages to 911 in Dodge County . There are more than 6,000 Public Safety Answering Points in the nation, and the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office is one out of approximately 900 of those centers to voluntarily offer this new service. Schmidt says that while Text-to-9-1-1 is now available, it’s not intended to replace a voice call to 911. A voice call is still the quickest, most efficient way to reach emergency help. Schmidt says Text-to-9-1-1 is intended for: Any person who is deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired; Any situation where a person could be in danger if someone hears them placing a voice call, such as domestic violence or home invasion; and in areas with poor cell coverage where a voice call may not work, but a text could. Schmidt reminds that this new service should only be used in emergency situations. Non-emergencies should be called into the Sheriff’s Office non-emergency line.
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