The job of a 911 telecommunicator is not for the faint of heart. To succeed in one of the most challenging careers in public service means dispatchers need the ability to remain calm, clear-headed and quick-witted amid noise and chaos. One must not only field multiple incoming calls from often-distraught callers, but also prioritize those calls, convey accurate information between callers and first responders, follow training and protocols, and coordinate responses across first responder agencies.
Seconds lost can mean lives lost and there is no room for miscommunication or errors.
But in a dynamically changing situation, maintaining focus can be a challenge. Motorola Solutions recognizes this challenge, which is why researchers there spent years observing how 911 telecommunicators operate on a daily basis – from eye movements to memorized actions – and built a responsive user interface to make 911 telecommunicators’ jobs less stressful and offer users a consistent experience, regardless of device or location.
Thanks to a new user interface for dispatchers with decisions assisted by AI and enhanced by additional context from the community, VESTA NXT makes it easier to share critical information and avoid miscommunication. The intuitive, human-centered design simplifies the workflow and enables telecommunicators to focus on the most critical steps and pieces of information, helping to reduce stress in the high-pressure, multitasking environment of a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP).
Here’s a look at how VESTA NXT – an upgraded version of Motorola Solutions’ familiar and trusted VESTA 9-1-1 platform – performs in a hypothetical but relatable situation.
THE SCENARIO
An armed robbery occurs at Campus Corner.
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The clerk dials 911 and a telecommunicator answers using VESTA NXT. The TC sends the clerk a link where he uploads an image of the suspect.
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With the touch of a button, the TC sends the information to the CAD system and police and EMS are dispatched.
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The rules engine activates a notification to key campus stakeholders based on proximity.
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An incident management checklist is sent to the staff to ensure proper communications and actions are taken.
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Once on scene, an arrest is quickly made.
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THE ROBBERY
Campus Corner is a convenience store located on campus at a state university. At approximately 1:47 p.m., a man appearing to be in his early 20s wearing a gray hoodie enters the store and immediately walks to the counter. He pulls out a 9mm pistol that was tucked into his black jeans, points it at the student cashier, Eric, and demands he empty the register. Eric complies.
Another customer, unaware of the situation, begins to walk to the register from the chip aisle. The suspect turns and fires at the surprised customer, who drops behind the bread stand.
The suspect grabs the cash from the counter and flees the scene, firing another shot into the store as he exits.
THE FRANTIC CALL
Hands shaking, Eric immediately calls 911 from his cell phone to report the robbery. A telecommunicator answers via VESTA NXT. Erics’s location instantly appears on the VESTA NXT map, and Sarah, the telecommunicator, asks pertinent questions.
“What’s the location of your emergency?”
“There’s been a robbery and shots were fired.”
Sarah can see the location address on her screen and confirms, “At 1812 State Street?”
“Yes.”
“Police and EMS are on the way,” Sarah tells Eric. “Tell me more about what happened.”
“This guy came into the store and pointed a gun at me and told me to give him all the cash.”
“Is he still in the store?”
“No. He ran off. He fired at a customer and I saw the customer fall behind the bread stand. I don’t know if she’s hurt – I’m scared to look.”
“Are there any other customers in the store?”
“I don’t know,” says Eric, looking around cautiously. “I don’t think so.”
“Can you check on the customer who fell?”
“Okay,” Eric walks to the bread stand and spots the customer crouched down on the floor. She’s holding her hands up in a defensive posture. “Are you okay?” The customer nods her head but stays in the position.
“I think she’s okay,” Eric tells Sarah. “She seems really scared.”
Because Eric has a Smart911 profile with VESTA NXT, Sarah can view this information on her monitor. She identifies Eric as the caller, confirms his identity and location and sees that Eric has a medical alert for asthma.
“How about you, Eric? Are you in medical distress?” Sarah asks. Eric says he’s fine, just a little shaken up.
“Help is on the way,” says Sarah. “Do you have a description of the suspect?”
Eric describes the suspect as best he can and Sarah asks if he happened to have taken a picture.
“No, I was too freaked out and it happened so fast. But I can snap a picture off the security camera. Would that work?”
Sarah says yes and texts a link to Eric’s cell phone. Eric snaps a picture from the security camera behind the counter and uploads it using the link Sarah sent. He also notices frames of the suspect on the security camera at the back entrance to the store and sends photos of that as well.
“Did you get the pictures?” asks Eric.
“Yes,” replies Sarah. “Thank you. These will be shared with law enforcement.”
Sarah instructs him to stay on the line so she can keep him updated. Because Sarah can also see the floor plan of the store, she tells Eric that police likely will be checking the rear entry of the store as well as the front.
BEHIND THE SCENES
As Eric describes the situation to Sarah, the conversation is automatically transcribed in real time. Keywords like “robbery,” “shots fired,” “gun” and “fell” are recognized and highlighted in the transcript so the telecommunicator and supervisors can see them to help make decisions. They also share the transcript with first responders to prepare them before they reach the incident.
Although the dispatch center supervisor is away from the center at a training conference, she has been following the conversation via the monitoring capability of VESTA NXT on her tablet.
NOTIFYING STAKEHOLDERS
Notifying stakeholders is accomplished based on the proximity to events using unified Motorola Solutions mapping tools.
Because he is closest to Campus Corner, a text alert appears on University Police Officer Garcia’s mobile device via the VESTA NXT map, along with the two photos of the suspect and a warning the suspect is armed. Officer Garcia immediately heads to the location on foot and dispatch is aware he is enroute.
As Officer Garcia runs the three blocks to the scene, Sarah tracks his movements, location and estimated time of arrival.
“The officer is on State Street and headed your way,” Sarah tells Eric.
Meanwhile, based on previously-loaded plans, an incident management checklist is sent to university staff to ensure proper communications and actions are taken. Based on the actions outlined in the checklist, a mass notification of police presence in the area is sent via text to students in buildings and dorms closest to Campus Corner. Students and instructors are instructed to shelter in place until the incident is resolved.
THE RESPONSE
When Officer Garcia receives an alert, the commander of the campus police department also receives an alert via the VESTA NXT map and deploys additional officers to the scene by patrol vehicle. As the patrol officers head to the scene – their mobile data terminals route them via the fastest route that avoids on-campus road construction – they pull up incident information and the suspect photos on their mobile devices. Incident data is also available to municipal police, with whom the University Police share data.
Two blocks away from Campus Corner, Officer Smith spots a person meeting the suspect’s description lurking in a doorway. Noting Officer Garcia’s location on the map, Officer Smith notifies Officer Garcia and by radio they strategize a plan to nab the suspect by approaching from multiple directions.
THE RESULT
Within minutes of the robbery, the suspect is taken into custody by the campus officers. EMS arrives at the incident location and, accompanied by Officer Garcia, locates the customer.
Another mass notification is sent to campus stakeholders, lifting the shelter in place order and notifying them the incident is resolved.
A DISPATCH DAY ENDS IN SATISFACTION AND SUCCESS
Sarah’s handling of Eric’s call about the robbery was made less stressful thanks to VESTA NXT, which allowed her to quickly access the most critical information easily and without unnecessary distraction from details less important in the moment. Having the ability to pinpoint the location of the caller and dispatch immediately, law enforcement, EMS and campus stakeholders were quickly made aware of incident details and took appropriate action based on the incident management checklist for such events.
With details handled, Sarah was able to monitor the situation closely and keep the caller informed. As a telecommunicator with many years of experience, Sarah had seen many days end in tragedy and was on the edge of burnout. Today was one of those days that renewed her sense of purpose and satisfaction in her choice of career.
To learn more, visit motorolasolutions.com.
