MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Mount Juliet Police Department launched a new 911 system last month aimed at getting police on the scene quicker when someone reports a crime.
According to police, the new technology, known as the Flock Live 911 system, played a major part in catching suspects in a crime last weekend.
"There was an armed robbery at a hotel where a man met a woman online, and when he met that woman, three men entered the hotel room with guns and robbed him of his cash, his wallet and his phone, and then they fled," Mount Juliet Police Chief Tyler Chandler said.
Thanks to the system, an officer arrived incredibly fast, and police were able to recover the victim's property and some evidence.
"The victim was shocked that we were able to apprehend the suspects so quickly," Chandler said.
Prior to this technology, when someone dialed 911, the call would be routed to dispatch, then to the department's dispatch to collect details, which were then relayed to officers in the field.
Now, that process is happening simultaneously.
I got a first-hand look at how it works.
"The traditional process takes three to five minutes. The process with the new technology is seconds," Chandler said.
Mount Juliet Police Department Captain Jacob Dean showed me what it looks like for officers when a call comes in.
"As a new one comes in, it will start automatically playing through my laptop speakers in my car so I'll be able to hear that 911 call live as it's going," said Dean.
"I can automatically see where that is and start responding to that location while all that information is still being gathered," Dean said.
The map uses data from the call to show how far away the crime is happening.
It can also alert an officer on their phone in case they are outside the car.
The system is one of the newest parts of a tech push from the department that includes LPRs and first responder drones that are set to start soon.
"Technology helps us be more efficient and more effective," Chandler said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at robb.coles@newschannel5.com.
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