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The Freeholder Board has launched Smart911 in Camden County to save critical time in emergency situations and encourages county residents to register with the program. Smart911 is a free nationwide service that allows users to create a Smart911 Safety Profile, which provides vital information to emergency dispatchers and first responders during an emergency. Camden County is the first in the state to introduce the technology.

“Our first responders need as much intelligence as possible to ensure positive outcomes and this program is a key to gathering that strategic analysis to provide help,” said Freeholder Jonathan Young, liaison to the Camden County Department of Public Safety. “By giving the department of public safety your home and work address, or even photos, you can let first responders know exactly where to go and who they are looking for. When every second counts, Smart911 can and will save lives.”

Smart911 allows individuals to create a safety profile at www.camdencounty.com for their whole household that can include any additional information they want the county communication center and first responders to have in an emergency situation. When an individual makes a 9-1-1 call, their Safety Profile is automatically displayed to the dispatcher, allowing them to send the most appropriate response to the exact location with the right information.

With Smart911, residents can link both home and work addresses to mobile phones, which can be passed on to police and fire personnel in the field for more a detailed, rapid response. Additional information including current medications, preexisting medical conditions, vehicle details in the event of an accident, emergency contacts and much more can all be included in a Safety Profile.

“Residents who link their safety profiles to their cell phones will provide first responders with the vital information they need,” Young said. “Even if you are in an area with a weak cell signal or a location where the call drops, you will have the added assistance of having your safety profile speak for you.”

All information is completely optional and only displayed when the linked phone dials 9-1-1 and then is only available for a certain window of time. The caller has the ability to choose what details they would like to include.

Smart911 is currently available nationwide in more than 1,500 counties and municipalities across the country, and has been credited with positively impacting emergency outcomes including a missing child in which the girl’s photo and physical description were immediately available to first responders, as well as a heart attack victim where an address and medical notes allowed help to be dispatched to his location quickly.

Camden County residents are encouraged to create their Safety Profile with Smart911 to have their information available to dispatchers and to receive emergency notifications. Smart911 is private and secure, is only used for emergency responses, and only made available to the 9-1-1 system in the event of an emergency call.