Government : 911 Texting: Benton County among Iowa areas testing new program

Benton County is among the majority of Iowa counties involved in a program to implement and test the capabilities of contacting emergency dispatchers via text as well as phone calls.

"911 texting is being tested," says Sheriff Ron Tippett. "It will offer a silent way to contact Law Enforcement, when a phone call being overheard could cause issues for the reporting party."

Along with dialing 9-1-1, as every child learns in school during Fire Prevention Week, residents now can send a text message to the Benton County 911 center by simply entering "911" in the "TO" line of a text message. Using the theme, "Call if you can, text if you can't," the Iowa Department of Homeland Security is working to implement the program in all 99 counties. Currently all but a handful of Iowa counties are participating.

But, Tippett advises that the program is new, and may need some improvements as officials see how and how well it works.

"As with most new technology it may have some issues or bugs that need worked out," Tippett explains. "We have several cell phone carriers in the area, coverage for some of the carriers may be an issue. Coverage concerns may be discovered and evaluated during the testing.Currently, I am not aware of if any of the cell phone carriers are Public Safety Certified, meaning that a call or message placed by 911 texting has priority and the delivery of the call or message is guaranteed."

Benton County, says Tippett, is looking at a SMART911 program that allows residents to register cell phones and add information that would come to the communications center when a call is placed.

"Communication is key," says Tippett. "Having another reliable way of getting help when needed is always welcomed by all."

As of 2017, six mobile phone service providers have taken the necessary steps to allow customers to text 911 on mobile phones in Iowa: AT&T, i-Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon. See a flier on the 911 text service from the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency ManagementHERE.