911: Call if You Can, Text if You Can't

Douglas Co. Sheriff's Office - 01/25/19 

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ore. - The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office 911 Communications Division has begun accepting Text-to-911 messages in response to emergencies.

Text-to-911 is a newer, important service. It is intended to benefit people that may not be able to speak due to an emergency such as a home invasion or abusive partner. Additionally, individuals that are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may benefit from the new technology.

A few things you should know about how Text-to-911 works:

• Texting to 911 is intended to benefit people that may not be able to speak in an emergency. The key thing to remember is “Call if you Can, Text if you Can’t”.
• When texting to 911 for an emergency the first message should be the location of the emergency (including city) and the type of emergency help needed (police, fire, or medical).
• Keep text messages brief and concise; using full words.
• Stay with your phone, be prepared to answer questions and follow instructions from the 911 dispatcher.
• Photos and videos should not be sent to 911 because not all wireless carriers are able to support this feature and it can delay dispatchers in sending help to you.
• You cannot include 911 in a group text or while roaming.

Text-to-911 service is not yet available statewide in Oregon or Washington. If you send a text to 911 from a wireless carrier or a city/county without Text-to-911 service, you should receive a message saying that there is no text service to 911 available at this time.

For more details and updates about Text-to-911 go to www.nwtext911.info.