Nassau County has launched a new public safety initiative to provide 911 call operators with additional information about residents assisted by law enforcement and ambulance services during emergencies.
The program, Smart911, allows users to create profiles documenting the number of people within a household, illness and allergy history, pets and emergency contacts, among other details, which would then be made available to the Nassau County Police Department for use in future incidents.
Residents would also be able to opt-in to the county’s “Mass Emergency Alerting” service to learn details of major crises. The alerts could be sent by phone, text or e-mail.
“Smart911 streamlines the time necessary to elicit critical information and allows faster assignment and dispatch of responders to call locations with more information to assist the residents quickly,” said Thomas Krumpter, acting commissioner of the Nassau County Police Department.
During an emergency, a household’s “safety profile” would be displayed to 911 call operators who county officials said could then offer quicker service.
The program also enables first responders to identify which households are in greatest need of assistance, officials said.
In a statement, Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said the program would help cut down on the county’s crime rate, which he said is already at an historic low.
“Smart911 allows us to provide an even higher level of emergency service to residents while also enhancing officer safety,” said Mangano. “The more information we are able to gather about any situation enables responders to make better decisions more quickly when lives and property are at risk.”
Registration for the program is available at Smart911.com. Information provided to the site may be updated or changed at any time, officials said.
