Six PSAPs in Kentucky just went live with text-to-911 services and more PSAPs will follow. Suzanne Larsen looks at why it’s so easy for Kentucky PSAPs to make the move.
When officials in Lexington, Kentucky, announced in mid-June that public safety answering points (PSAPs) in four counties — Fayette, Jessamine, Garrard, and Lincoln — could now exchange text messages with 9-1-1 callers, Lexington Mayor, Linda Gorton, called the move “a huge step forward in public safety.” Since that time, Marion County and Edmonson County also now support text-to-911 calls, and additional counties are expected to follow. All of these moves are possible thanks to some cooperative decision-making that started a decade ago.