Atlanta upgrades 911 tech system in latest effort to speed up emergency calls

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - On Thursday, Atlanta emergency officials showed off new tech upgrades at its 911 call center in downtown Atlanta.

The biggest enhancement is real-time location detection.

This improvement will take the onus off callers to know and report their location. Now operators can better find those in emergencies.

“It’s been needed for a very long time. Not just here for Atlanta 911 but for the 911 space. The ability to be able to locate people has been an issue for 911 for several years,” said Desiree Arnold, E911 Director for the Atlanta Police Department.

Officials report that since the new system was put into place in May, the Carbyne system has helped locate more than 27,000 of the 44,640 callers.

The system also allows operators to integrate video and pictures from callers to help dispatch the appropriate aid.

Teneria Gilstrap, a 911 operator of 15 years, said she recently used the video capability to help dispatch an ambulance after a car crash.

“I could see that there was injuries because I could see that the airbags had bene deployed and the guy was holding his shoulder,” said Gilstrap, during a press conference on Thursday.

“I was able to get the information over a little quicker by being able to see the video footage,” she said.

Carbyne officials showcased the new technology on Thursday, including a tutorial showing the effectiveness of their device-based location capability.

“We are proud to support the City of Atlanta’s forward-thinking approach to emergency response. With our technology, we aim to help Atlanta’s public safety departments perform their jobs more efficiently and effectively. Together, we can make a real difference because every person counts,” said Amir Elichai, CEO of Carbyne.

This is the latest series of upgrades as part of a major overhaul of the E911 system in Atlanta.

Earlier this year, Atlanta rolled out a new upgrade allowing operators to prioritize emergency calls, thus ushering non-emergency calls to the back of the queue.

These changes have helped decrease the time 911 callers wait on hold.

Since last summer, wait times averages have dropped from 40 to 14 seconds, per call, according to Arnold.

Arnold said E911 is still looking to fill roughly 25 operator positions.