RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – New technology is now helping the state highway patrol track 911 calls that have an emergency but can't say exactly where they are.
Additionally, the new system allows police officers to use GPS maps to locate each other and the emergency caller.
New 911 calling technology enables more accurate cell phone tracking
When you call 9-1-1, the dispatchers who respond use computer-aided dispatching, or CAD, to send first responders to help — but it's a one-way technology.
This technology, which dates back to the 1970s, is outdated for the state highway patrol.
First Sergeant Chris Knox told CBS 17 that the patrol's old CAD program would soon go offline because it was “outdated.” Knox went on to say it got so bad, “we were taking notes on whiteboards.”
Now the SHP screens calls in real time and with accurate details.
There's new technology that allows GPS to track a caller's location to within several feet, and it's now being paired with the state's new highway patrol system.
The agency now has the ability to track the location of highway patrol units on a map – a map that 9-1-1 dispatchers and other police officers can access simultaneously.
“Where every second counts, knowing exactly where you stand can be the difference between a good or bad result,” Knox said. “This GPS tracking is an important factor in knowing where the person calling us is.”
The new system brings everyone on the same page.
The system's price tag was $11 million, paid for by a bill passed during the pandemic.
““This was done through the American Rescue Plan,” Knox said. “I think you've heard the phrase 'COVID money' a lot and so at the end of the day, all money is taxpayer money.”
The system offers benefits beyond just routine 9-1-1 calls.
“Many of the capabilities of this system will really pay off in these large events,” said Knox. “As a state, we see the hurricanes, we see the floods, wildfires, whatever it may be.”
As technology improves, new improvements will become available, and Knox said the system is designed to incorporate this new technology into the current system.
This way it will remain useful for many years to come.
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