Texting has become the go-to way to communicate for most individuals, especially teenagers. But what about in a life-threatening emergency? In some areas of Southern California, you can't text 9-1-1 and get a response.
"You can see stories on the news, but you will never truly understand until it happens to you,” said Orange County teen Anika Alexa. Alexa was just 7 years old when she lost her older sister Alejandra after she was murdered by her ex-husband.
“On June 16, 2011, he followed her to a cul-de-sac, forced her out of her car, and shot her nine times,” Alexa said. The pre-school teacher had endured years of abuse that was unknown to her family and friends. “I looked up to her completely. She was my idol and still is because of the way she lived her life,”
Now, the 15-year-old is an advocate against domestic violence, trying to find ways to help save lives.
“Sharing my sister’s story has really opened the door for other girls to be comfortable sharing their story,” she said.
Like most teenagers, Alexa communicates with her friends and even her own mom, primarily by text messages.
“We don’t really call. Texting is our number one source of communication,” Alexa said. She was shocked to find out in Orange County she can’t text 9-1-1 in case of an emergency.
“It is really heartbreaking to me… That could really save someone’s life,” Alexa said.
In San Bernardino County, things are different.
“We are here and we’ll respond … They will get answered,” said Angela Haddad, Communications Manager of San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Desert Control Center.
San Bernardino County was the first county in California to launch text-to-911 in December 2015, the same month as the mass shooting at the Inland Regional Center, when text messages came in about an active shooter.
“They did receive them and respond during the incident,” Haddad said.
Now six dispatchers trained in answering texts to 9-1-1 are standing by to respond to any text for help that comes in, including La Kessha Nash.
“We can get several in one day and we can go days without getting any,” Nash said.
“There was a female on the line and she was whispering,” Nash said, of one 9-1-1- text incident.
The woman, who initially called hung up, and sent a text message providing more information about a man in a domestic violence situation. Nash tracked the GPS of the cell phone and sent a deputy to help.
If that text for help was sent in Orange County, Alexa knows it wouldn’t go through.
“Honestly it kind of angers me… If it’s available in one city it should be available in other cities,” Alexa said. She is hoping helping to spread awareness will lead to a change that one day could save someone in a violent situation maybe someone else’s big sister.
Currently Minnesota, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Indiana all have statewide 9-1-1- text coverage. California does not. About 75 percent of call centers in California do offer the program, including all of L.A. County and San Bernardino counties. Unfortunately parts of Riverside County lack the texting program, and Orange County does not offer it at all.
Spectrum News reached out to the state and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Operations and found out right now they have no statutory authority to require local call centers to add text-to-911 systems, it’s up to the individual jurisdictions.