Staff Reports
Motorola Solutions recently announced a new service aimed at helping first responders better engage with citizens in their time of need.
CommandCentral Citizen Input allows citizens calling or texting 9-1-1 to send video, photographs and recordings of an incident to the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), using controlled and permission-based procedures.
The service is now available to the public safety market and some governments are starting to incorporate it into their 9-1-1 programs.
“With CommandCentral Citizen Input, Motorola Solutions has really listened to its customers,” said Anita Pitt, 9-1-1 program manager, Brazos Valley Council of Governments in Texas. “It allows the 9-1-1 call taker to send a link to the citizen calling or texting 9-1-1, which allows the citizen to send the media to the PSAP. With this, the 9-1-1 call taker is in control of what is sent. When I learned that, I thought, ‘Thumbs up, Motorola Solutions.’”
Research has shown that almost 24% of 9-1-1 call takers suffer from some form of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The service also protects users from unknowingly viewing potentially traumatic images.
CommandCentral Citizen Input helps users avoid that trauma by attaching submissions as links that can be viewed by the call taker as needed. Whether the call taker views it or not, the attachments are stored in the CommandCentral Vault for post-call analysis, as well as to maintain the chain of custody of evidence.
Access to potentially disturbing video and images is controlled and limited by the call taker and their supervisor.
“Like all Motorola Solutions cloud-based offerings, Citizen Input is offered ‘as a service’ to our public safety customers,” said Andrew Sinclair, Motorola Solutions’ senior vice president and general manager of software enterprise.
“This enables us to eliminate the need for an upfront capital outlay, making it more cost effective and easier for agencies to purchase. Just as important, Motorola Solutions assumes the burden of regular maintenance, upgrades and security, so PSAPs can do what they do best — saving lives, one call at a time.”
