Snohomish County
John Lovick
County Executive
News release – Oct. 19, 2015
Contact: Rebecca Hover
Office: 425-388-3883
Email: rebecca.hover@snoco.org
October is domestic violence awareness month
With a focus this month on domestic violence issues, Snohomish County 911 centers would like to remind people to call 911 if they are in danger.
Some people in Snohomish County also may be able to contact 911 via a text message. The ability to send a text to 911 is intended to benefit people who may not be able to speak due to an emergency – such as a domestic violence incident or a home invasion – as well as individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech disabilities. Calling 911 is still the preferred method to ask for help. Remember: Call if you can, text (only) if you can’t.
• Be sure to text the location and type of help you need in the first text. Texting 911 is different than calling 911. When a call is placed to 911, the call taker will typically receive the phone number and the approximate location automatically. However, in most cases, when a text is sent to 911, the call taker will not receive accurate location information. For this reason, when a text message to 911 is sent, it is important to give the 911 call taker an accurate address or location as quickly as possible.
• Texting 911 is currently available in Snohomish County. It is not available if you are roaming.
• If you text 911 and receive a bounce back message that says text service to 911 is not available, please call 911.
• Customers should contact their carriers directly to determine if they can text 911. Only certain carriers support the ability to text 911. These include AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon. Depending on the technology and device being used, customers of other carriers may also be able to send a text to 911.
If you are a victim of domestic violence, Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County can help. They provide free and confidential services: emergency shelter, legal advocacy, support groups and domestic violence education. For information, please call their 24 hour crisis hotline: 425-25-ABUSE (425-252-2873).
For additional information, please visit the following websites:
• http://www.dvs-snoco.org ,Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County
• http://snohomishcountywa.gov/e911, Snohomish County E911 Office
• http://snocom.org, Southwest Snohomish County Communications Agency
• http://www.snopac911.us, Snohomish County Police Staff and Auxiliary Services Center
If you have questions, please contact SNOCOM 911 Executive Director Terry Peterson at 425-774-2521 or tpeterson@snocom.org or SNOPAC 911 Executive Director Kurt Mills at 425-407-3911.