DRACUT, MA — The Northern Middlesex Regional Emergency Communications Center (NMRECC) recently marked another milestone in its use of public safety technology, successfully using Axon 911 Intelligence by Prepared's real-time translation capabilities for the first time to communicate with a Spanish-speaking caller on a police department business line.
The caller contacted the Dracut Police Department’s business line and spoke only Spanish. While NMRECC has long had access to language interpretation services for calls received through the 911 system, options for non-English-speaking callers contacting police and fire departments through their regular business lines have historically been more limited.
Previously, NMRECC telecommunicators could overcome that barrier using Prepared’s text messaging and automatic translation capabilities. A telecommunicator would obtain the caller’s telephone number, initiate a text conversation, and communicate through automatically translated messages.
During this recent call, however, the telecommunicator was able to use Prepared to communicate with the caller without transitioning the conversation to text.
As the caller continued speaking Spanish, Prepared translated the caller’s words into English, providing the telecommunicator with both an audible translation and written transcription. The telecommunicator could then type a response in English, which was translated and spoken back to the caller in Spanish.
The technology allowed the conversation to continue despite the language barrier while reducing the additional steps previously necessary to establish a translated text conversation.
NMRECC only began using the new translation system in July, with a small number of telecommunicators initially introduced to the technology. This first successful use demonstrated the system’s potential in a real-world call and provided an immediate example of how it can help remove language barriers while reducing the additional steps previously required.
Following the successful call, NMRECC plans to expand training on the system so more telecommunicators are familiar with the technology and prepared to utilize it when needed.
“This is another example of technology helping us remove barriers between our telecommunicators and the people we serve,” said NMRECC Executive Director Brian O’Neill. “Whether someone calls 911 or one of our departments’ regular telephone numbers, our goal is the same: understand what they need and get them the appropriate assistance. Having another tool available to communicate with someone regardless of the language they speak helps us accomplish that.”
The successful call represents the latest evolution in NMRECC’s use of Prepared, a platform the Center has utilized since late 2022.
In early 2023, NMRECC telecommunicators used Prepared’s automatic text translation capabilities to communicate with a Spanish-speaking woman during an incident that ultimately helped reunite family members and connect the woman with additional assistance. That incident involved multiple NMRECC telecommunicators over several days and demonstrated how translated two-way text messaging could provide another means of communicating when a language barrier existed.
Since then, NMRECC has continued expanding its use of the platform. Prepared allows telecommunicators to communicate with callers through text messaging, receive live video and media, obtain enhanced location information, and utilize translation and transcription tools.
Those capabilities have also been utilized during emergency incidents, including incidents where NMRECC has used Prepared to assist in locating callers and provide responding police, fire, and EMS personnel with additional situational awareness.
“The way we communicate with the public continues to change,” O’Neill added. “A phone call may still be how the interaction begins, but technology now gives our telecommunicators significantly more options for determining where someone is, understanding what is happening, and communicating when traditional methods may not be enough.”
For NMRECC, the successful use of translation on a business-line call represents a relatively simple but important improvement: a caller who speaks a different language can continue speaking in their own language, while the telecommunicator can communicate with them in English.
NMRECC provides 24-hour emergency communications services for the communities of Dracut and Tewksbury, including 911 call processing and police, fire, and emergency medical dispatch.