911: The Gateway to the Criminal Justice System

A call to 911 is the gateway to the entire workflow of the criminal justice system; not the arrival of first responders on the scene. How much information, and how well it is gathered and recorded at the time the call is made, can impact the rest of a victim’s life, and indeed even if they survive. Just as importantly, the first five minutes after the call can have an enormous impact on the telecommunicator’s ability to send the appropriate resources and the first responder’s ability to address the emergency at hand. Law enforcement officers called to the scene risk their safety to help those in need. The more information they have prior to arriving on the scene, the better response they can provide. Greater preparation can help ensure their own safety, which is paramount. In the event of homicide, the prosecuting attorney arrives on the scene to assess the situation and gather crucial evidence. The more background information the prosecuting attorney has available, the more focused the investigation. Family members and friends of the victim may be crucial to gathering this evidence. The trauma they may have experienced may make evidence collection more difficult. Each person involved needs a better understanding of the 911 call response and how it impacts each part of the criminal justice workflow. Each will discuss the challenges in their area and where they see opportunities to improve the outcomes, starting with the 911 call. The panelists will discuss the perspectives of: PSAP/911 First responders Law enforcement Prosecutor Victims Emergency response technology automation and processes should enable public safety for all members of the community: people in distress, victims of a crime, suspects, first responders, law enforcement, prosecutors and defense counsel. The panelists will discuss their personal and professional experiences with the criminal justice workflow, particularly regarding the technology and processes used in the 911 call response. © 2022 by eBodyGuard. All rights reserved. Copyright protection claimed includes all forms and matters of copyrightable material and information now allowed by statutory or judicial law or hereinafter granted. eBodyGuard© and all eBodyGuard products mentioned in this publication are trademarks of eBodyGuard Corp.