Workshops

Training to effectively use and improve the text service would be necessary, to make sure it functioned to the best of its ability. Workshops would be held throughout cities and the whole state, to train police officers and affiliated institutions on the use of radio equipment. IT Personnel would also be trained to effectively deal with community members, and previous victims of violent crime in particular. Networking between disparate departments in rural and urban areas of Virginia, specifically Southern Virginia and far-flung areas in similar parts of the state would be mandatory to provide safety for all individuals of different communities. Workshops would also provide individuals, training to use the text service, with hard copies of every rule book or documentation with every website specific to that states’ hospitals, police departments, and statutes, including but not limited to local ordinances. These resources would be provided to those who have trouble accessing laws specific to where they live online, to make them easier to be discussed.

                Webinars would also be conducted between different departments throughout the state on how they can improve community relations and discussions regarding different department heads traveling to different departments than those in their area. This would allow them to relate to communities different from their own, and relate better to their own as well. Media kits provided during workshops, would consist of promotional flyers highlighting benefits of the text service, press releases, biographies of organizational leaders, and press office contact information, so that the public can be consistently updated.

 Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.               

 

 

Showcase for a potential event

A potential event in which the service might be showcased is a situation of domestic violence. In the event that an individual might not want their partner to know where they are by calling 911, they would text their information to a counselor on the other end of the phone. Once the counselor or advocate receives the message, necessary steps would be taken to assure the individuals’ safety. Another event in which the service would be showcased, would be an annual awareness meeting regarding police departments and others’ to discuss the new technology. The meeting(s) would consist of discussing how the text service would be used and how to discuss it with members of the community. Attendees would also learn how Google Blog, Twitter, or other types of technological communication would be used in terms of accessing the text service to its full benefit.

                Any financial obligations would be accounted for as well at these meetings. In case there was a misappropriation of taxes, the individuals responsible for handling that would be dealt with accordingly. In that aspect, the meeting(s) would showcase how aspects of the service, like funding for its use and advancing its reach, would be a “race to the top” for the respective community at large.

Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.

Highlights

The Virginia Emergency Response Text Service highlights first, consist of developing a state-by-state communications system for law enforcement to synergize activities between each other. This way, for example, the text that was sent from the victim to the counseling representative, connected to 911 and the local police station. The text message from the police which the victim sent, is then sent to all hospitals in the immediate area and/or, their primary care physician, if they have one. So, the victim’s information would already be sent to whichever hospital they might go to, before they arrive for care. Another highlight of the service would consist of eventually, improving and/or enhancing judicial and healthcare systems in the whole United States, through aggressive education about and the use of technology. The idea of the text service and its goals would not be limited to Virginia, so that lawyers on a case for a victim of violent crime would automatically receive the initial text as well as contact information of the police department that had contact with the potential victim, and the EMT or hospital that took care of them.

                The other highlights consist of, text-enabled devices provided to potential victims and previous victims, paid for through taxes, state funds through a department, and community development block grants. These are grants issued by a state, given to each city, and that city determines how they will use it. The grant will likely be used on such material as business cards with text numbers for police departments and EMT, as well as hospitals, according to the state, IT Personnel, ready to fix whatever problem with the technology arises and, radio equipment as a back-up source of communication for departments to communicate.

Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.

Introduction

    Hello, my name is Hunter Forte and the inspiration for this blog, Virginia Emergency Response Text Service, came from my experience with O.A.R. and the need to become more familiar with current communication technology. As a Co-Facilitator for O.A.R. meetings, I learned a wealth of information that would assist me with my own relationships as well as those of others, and wondered why better services weren’t yet being provided for victims of violent crime. Opportunities, Alternatives, and Resources (O.A.R.), in Fairfax, Virginia, is a non-profit organization that seeks to rehabilitate domestic violence offenders on probation or parole. Due to my experience with my Bachelor of Science in Criminology, Law and Society degree from George Mason University, and O.A.R., I wondered how often victims of violent crime or previous victims of violent crime, found themselves in situations where they couldn’t call 911, and would rather text instead. Thus, the text service would be a hotline specifically for violent crimes such as burglary or domestic violence.

    An advocate for counseling would receive the text and through an exchange of information, contact the nearest police station to the victim that would be of assistance. The signal from the victim’s phone would be simultaneously sent to the other nearest emergency services in the area. They would then be alerted to the victim. Afterwards, other services would be alerted from the emergency response teams for after a resolution is reached. The mission of the service is to simplify and accelerate emergency responses of fire departments, law enforcement agencies, and EMT using text messaging.

Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.