Cape Girardeau Police launch new 911 dispatch program

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – The Cape Girardeau Police Department (CGPD) released a new software program to enhance their response time to emergency situations.

The new system is called “Prepared Live” and allows the 911 dispatch operators to view pictures, video, and texts from any incident in real time.

“Prepared Live is a new software platform that’s being pushed out to local and, I think, state dispatching centers,” explained Cpl. Ryan Droege with the CGPD. “It’s free to use to us and it’s a software system that’s built in to just the normal web browser so that we can send a link to a user.”

The operator will send a web link to the person in need of help, which allow for the sharing of information.

Once the link is allowed, the police can receive text messages, live video, and GPS location in real time.

This service allow operators to know the exact location of the person in need and give first responders better information on where they need to go.

“Whether it’s a police incident or they’re involved or they’re just witnessing something from afar, that can help us out with some more better details, or if it’s a fire incident, they can send it in and we know, exactly which house it is, where it is, where the fire in the house is … to make sure everyone’s out,” added Cpl. Droege.

The service requires consent from the anyone using the service. After the call is finished, the police will cut off all information from the user.

“We understand that anyone might be hesitant at first. However, as you’ll see in the demo that we do here in a minute, every single step, it involves consent from the user. So, if they don’t give us access to it, we don’t have access to it,” said Cpl. Droege.

More than 30 other cities are using the service. A comprehensive list detailing those locations was not available.