Texting 911 coming to general public by end of 2020, Winnipeg police chief says

People in an emergency will soon be able to text emergency operators for help, Winnipeg's police chief said Friday.

And when a new 911 system is implemented in the next few years, they'll also be able to share photos and videos with first responders, Danny Smyth told the Winnipeg Police Board.

"It will be a multimedia type of platform," Smyth said. "So by 2023, when people call 911 they should be able to text, send pictures, send video."

In 2017, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission directed phone companies to update their networks to be ready to provide next-generation 911 services.

The government agency saidthe new services could be a big help to emergency responders by allowing people to stream video from an emergency, send photos of accident damage or share personal medical information and accessibility needs.

It mandated networks be ready to provide the text messaging services by Dec. 31, 2020.

Texting 911 is already available for people who are part of the deaf, deafened, hard of hearing or speech impaired community in Canada if they register for the service with their service provider. The new system will bring the feature to the general public.

Smyth said what people in Winnipeg know as 911 will end by 2023.

"That gets unplugged and put to bed," he said."By the time it's all said and done, the system not only will take the [voice] data, but it will take texting, it should take video, it can take photos. It will change the way we know 911, so we have budgeted for it and are well on our way down this path now. It's exciting."

Smyth said the new digital system will come in phases over the next few years. He said it will require lots of upgrades and infrastructure co-ordination with the province.

"Everyone in North America is kind of going through that process right now. In Canada, it's been mandated, so there's a definitive timeline there," he said.

"We're one of the early adopters. We are well ahead of the curve in many jurisdictions."