Today, Feb. 16, the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office is launching the SPIDR Tech platform to enhance communications for 911 callers, crime victims, and the community by automating certain status updates via text or email. This platform provides callers with pertinent information and updates about their case, as well as follows up after the situation is resolved with a survey.
Upon calling 911, if the complaint is being handled by the Sheriff’s Office, an automated text will be sent to the caller if they are on a cell phone, which acknowledges their call. Then, depending on the situation, they will receive updates about the officer’s response time, they will be given an Incident Number that can be referenced in the future, and crime victims will receive customized information for resources. The messaging is available in Spanish and Burmese. The final text, a survey, will provide feedback to the Sheriff’s Office about the caller’s experience.
“This pilot partnership with SPIDR Tech will provide the public two benefits: First, they will be more informed about their case and it’s a convenient way to provide resources to victims. Second, the data collected can be used by our agency to improve our interactions with callers,” said Calhoun County Sheriff Steve Hinkley. “We look forward to finding new ways to improve the work we do as a result of this communication tool with the public.”
Battle Creek Police Department has been using this service since September 2022. This will be SPIDR Tech's first program with a Sheriff's Office in Michigan, and it is cost-free for this first year for CCSO.
ABOUT SPIDR TECH: SPIDR Tech, a Versaterm Public Safety company, was founded by former law enforcement officers to help law enforcement agencies leverage their own data to improve public perception and increase efficiency by providing excellent customer service. Following extensive market research, we designed and built the world’s first comprehensive, customer service infrastructure for law enforcement with the goal of improving communication and transparency between agency and community.
