Columbus launches multi-lingual, video enhanced 911 system

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The City of Columbus is making 911 more accessible to every resident in the city. These advances make sure that accessing city emergency services is equitable and efficient.  

Residents can text 911 in their native language and the software will translate it for the dispatchers. Users can also show dispatchers real-time video of what’s happening around them.  

The new technology was launched this month and is now ready to use.  

"We feel like now we belong, our community now belongs to the City of Columbus," Hassiba Makour, who helped test the system, said. 

Makour speaks many languages. She and a group of others helped test the system that translates texts to English for dispatchers to read.  

"It's going to help save lives because time is the key; like the mayor said, time is key," Makour said.  

Dispatchers can respond in English and the text is translated back to the language of the person in distress 

"The data will provide us with some direction on what communities are comfortable using it, which ones are not comfortable using it,” Public Safety Support Services Division Administrator Ken Coontz said. “Do we need to reach out to those communities and go, ‘Hey, is there something we can do to help you feel more secure?’” 

The other new element is 911 video. Dispatchers can send a link to the user’s phone and, with permission, see through the front and back cameras. Once the call has ended, dispatchers will no longer have access to the user’s device. This can help to identify where the caller is or show emergency personnel the scene. 

"We think this is just going to be another great tool, a way for us to continuously improve,” Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said. “That's what we're focused on. How can we get better in serving the people of Columbus?" 

The translation service depends on the phone carrier the user has. Currently, AT&T is the only carrier that translates in all 55 languages available through the service. City officials said other carriers can only translate Latin-based characters.