Translation & TTY Services with 911

Public Safety Communications has a written policy in place for processing calls from Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals. It is the agency’s policy to process the majority of the calls that require translator services through the use of translation services from Voiance/CyraCom Language Services, LLC.

The 9-1-1 Call Center receives an average of forty-five (45) calls per day that require a translator service to assist a caller in providing the details of his or her request for public safety services. The majority of the calls that require translator services are for Spanish speaking callers. Other high volume translations are required for French, Hindi, Bengali, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Korean, Malayalam, Tigregna (Eritrea) and Arabic languages. Last year, Spanish translation services were provided at an average of 1,340 times per month, with other languages accounting for an average of 60 translations per month.

The 9-1-1 call taker will connect to the translation service using an automated process, establishing a three-way conference call between the caller, the 9-1-1 call taker and the language translation service. This allows the 9-1-1 call taker to maintain contact with the caller throughout the connection process to ensure the best and fastest emergency response services are provided. The average time to connect to a Spanish translator from call initiation to connection is 6 seconds.

TTY Calls to 9-1-1
The computerized telephone system installed in the Prince George’s County Public Safety Communications 9-1-1 Center automatically recognizes a TTY call and the 9-1-1 and dispatch personnel are trained to answer emergency calls from persons who are hearing and/or speech impaired. Do not attempt to send a text message to 9-1-1 or the non-emergency dispatch number.