Most Texas Counties Lack Cell Phone 911 Technology
This sounds to me like the GOP run government doesn't give a damn about those of us in more rural areas--like Taylor County.
Click2Houston.com - News - Most Texas Counties Lack Cell Phone 911 Technology
When Gail Sternberg called police on her cell phone to report she had been shot, it took officers 34 minutes to find her home. By then she was dead."
She had been shot a couple of times in the torso. If we could have had a more timely response, her odds of survival would have been greater," Waller County Sheriff Randy Smith told the Houston Chronicle in Sunday's editions.
Waller County, like about 80 percent of counties in Texas, doesn't have the equipment to pinpoint cell phone locations. And most counties won't have it for at least a year and a half, said Kelli Merriweather, a spokeswoman for the Commission on State Emergency Communications.
Many counties say their systems aren't up to date because the Legislature has raided a fund created from a phone tax designated for 911 services, using the money for other purposes.
According to state records, the Legislature has been releasing only a portion of the money to the commission, which funds 911 services in most counties. The rest - $82 million to date - has been reserved to certify the state budget in case of a shortfall, the Chronicle reported.
That's not a problem for most counties surrounding large cities that have the new equipment, such as Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin and Lubbock. But in a state where roughly half of the 12 million calls last year to 911 were on wireless phones, officials in smaller counties are eager for upgrades.
Click2Houston.com - News - Most Texas Counties Lack Cell Phone 911 Technology
When Gail Sternberg called police on her cell phone to report she had been shot, it took officers 34 minutes to find her home. By then she was dead."
She had been shot a couple of times in the torso. If we could have had a more timely response, her odds of survival would have been greater," Waller County Sheriff Randy Smith told the Houston Chronicle in Sunday's editions.
Waller County, like about 80 percent of counties in Texas, doesn't have the equipment to pinpoint cell phone locations. And most counties won't have it for at least a year and a half, said Kelli Merriweather, a spokeswoman for the Commission on State Emergency Communications.
Many counties say their systems aren't up to date because the Legislature has raided a fund created from a phone tax designated for 911 services, using the money for other purposes.
According to state records, the Legislature has been releasing only a portion of the money to the commission, which funds 911 services in most counties. The rest - $82 million to date - has been reserved to certify the state budget in case of a shortfall, the Chronicle reported.
That's not a problem for most counties surrounding large cities that have the new equipment, such as Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin and Lubbock. But in a state where roughly half of the 12 million calls last year to 911 were on wireless phones, officials in smaller counties are eager for upgrades.
posted by Unknown @ 4:48 PM
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