BURLINGTON, N.C. — A new 911 call platform is making a big impact on Burlington Police.
The department recently started using GoodSAM. The platform lets dispatchers ask people who call 911 for permission to access their cell phone cameras. If granted, dispatchers can see the scene in real-time and relay information to officers.
"It means everything," Emily-Lynn Adkins, Public Information Officer for BPD, said. "It means time and safety for our community."
Adkins said the tool has worked well so far. She said dispatch recently got a call about a large fight. The caller allowed dispatchers to use GoodSAM, so they could see what was going on. It helped the communications center make a better decision about how many units to send and later helped investigators identify instigators.
"It's certainly been exciting to see some of those early successes and how we can really deploy our resources wisely for the betterment of our community," Adkins said.
Police said GoodSAM allows for a more efficient, informed response. Dispatchers can feed information to officers. That lets them know what to expect as they approach a scene.
Adkins said the technology takes a big burden off of officers.
"It is critical for any department to be able to deploy their resources effectively, not just the police department, but also fire," Adkins said. "Instead of sending two fire trucks, they may only need to send one. That is critical for any organization."
GoodSAM is used across four agencies: Burlington Police, Burlington Fire, Graham Police and Graham Fire. Agencies started using it in March.
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