HAWAII ISLAND, Hawaii (KHON2) — Hawaiʻi Island police are launching a brand-new feature to help keep the community safer.
Called “Community Connect”, this new feature will keep callers in the loop after they place a 911 call.
When police respond to a 911 call, the caller will automatically receive a text message to let them know that the police are coming and if there are any delays in response time.
This new feature aims to keep the caller in the loop with police and prevents having to call dispatch again.
“Well, that is our hope that this platform would keep our victims and our callers informed without having the need to call into our central dispatch station or the district stations where they reside in,” said Lieutenant Zachary Fernando, Hawaiʻi County Police Department. “So, this can take care of all of that. And like I said, hopefully minimize the calls coming into our dispatch center and our communications officers can focus on the 911 calls.”
This will also allow callers to get an update as to when the officer leaves, including the report number and if the case is assigned to a detective for follow up.
This new service comes free of charge to users and will be set up automatically.
Alternatively, for those not using wireless calls, an email alert can be set up.
The County is paying about $100,000 a year for the service.