San Mateo police implement Live911

When responding to an incident, first responders will be able to listen in on a 911 call between the caller and call taker, including any questions being asked, first-hand descriptions, emotional tones and background noises occurring on scene. First responders will also be given the callers location on a map, allowing them to route toward them while developing a response plan.

Officers can also rewind live audio, ask for more details over radio, see the location of other officers and isolate the calls they’re streamed to just their beat.

The program, called Live911, is run by the Thousand Oaks software company HigherGround, which specializes in public safety tools, in partnership with RapidSOS, an emergency response data platform.

Nearly 150,000 calls have been made to the department over the past two years, according to the SMPD Policing Data Transparency dashboard on the city’s website. Of those calls, reports of disturbances, welfare checks and suspicious situations or people are some of the most common types received.

The public can also text 911 if they are unable to call during an unsafe emergency, if they are deaf or hard of hearing or if they have a speech disability, the advisory noted.

The services are all meant to improve how officers respond to various emergency calls in a time when greater pressure is being placed on departments to take an equitable and measured approach when called to a scene.

In their advisory, the department noted they have taken important steps to build trust with the community and to improve interactions with those who may be experiencing mental health crises. In addition to the city’s Homeless Outreach Team, the department is also one of three Peninsula municipalities partnering with the county Sheriff’s Office and Behavioral Health and Services Department on a pilot program in which a mental health clinician is deployed with support from law enforcement to an incident when a mental health crisis is occurring.

“We’ve made strides utilizing a mental health clinician and our CIT/CNT trained officers in the field,” read the advisory. “But as we continue to work towards bettering our response to mental health related issues and dangerous calls for service, Live911 will become invaluable as we will have a better overall understanding of what’s happening en route to a call vs. a “just the facts” delivery of information.”