Faulkner County Sheriff's Office is pleased to join the Conway Police Department in announcing the implementation of the Next Generation 911 (NG911) system, powered by RapidDeploy, a cloud-native emergency response platform trusted by over 1,500 Emergency Communication Centers (ECCs) nationwide. The rollout of the new system, which is set to begin on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, will dramatically modernize how our telecommunicators handle emergency calls, allowing for a safer community through faster and more accurate emergency response. In addition to allowing access to traffic cameras and alert systems, the new system will allow our "Heroes with Headsets" to relay critical health information to first responders, such as allergies, medications, and other health history concerns, when you need it the most. The new system also supports SMS messaging in addition to voice calls, meaning that callers will be able to send text messages to 911, which allows for safe and discrete communication during emergency situations when speaking may present safety concerns if the caller is overheard. Finally, telecommunicators will have access to live video feed from incident scenes, improving safety outcomes for both citizens and first responders.

Citizens should be assured that 911 operations will not be disrupted during the rollout. Rather, emergency 911 calls will be forwarded to non-emergency telephone lines. If for some reason you experience a concern contacting 911, citizens are encouraged to contact our non-emergency dispatch at (501) 328-5906. We are confident this new upgrade will dramatically improve safety outcomes, response times, and information sharing for the citizens of Faulkner County.