Is it possible to text the police

I'm hiding in the closet upstairs, can't talk on the phone. According to the Pueblo County Sheriffs Office, it's not uncommon for emergency operators to respond to the first text message they receive asking for the person to call if it's at all possible. Including the fact that you can't make a voice call in your first message could eliminate extra messages between you and the operator, saving valuable time.

If you're in an area where Text-to isn't available, you'll receive a bounce-back message letting you know that you need to call Depending on the situation, if you have time, send a message to and to a backup emergency contact in case Text-to isn't available.

Your contact may be able to reach authorities for you. If you have more questions, the FCC is a great resource for more information about Text-to, or you can try searching for your city or county's name with "text to " in the query Ex.

Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. When should I text ? Text to is intended primarily for use in three emergency scenarios:. If I send a text to , will the center automatically know my location? Texting is different than making a voice call. When you call from a mobile phone, the call center will usually receive your phone number and approximate location automatically.

But if you text , the call taker may not receive your phone number or location. Text-to is the ability to send a text message to a dispatcher from your mobile phone or handheld device.

Text-to is not available everywhere and is not always available when roaming. If text-to is not available in your area or is temporarily unavailable, you should receive a message indicating that text-to is not available and to call for assistance.

For an individual who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, or has a speech disability. For someone who is in a situation where it is not safe to place a voice call to As with all text messages, they may take longer to receive and respond than a voice call and could be received out of order or not at all.

Texting also does not provide an accurate or reliable location of the texter as text GPS information is not equal to current wireless phone call location technology. Since it became possible to text , emergency responders have noted several benefits of this way of communicating.

Here are the pros of texting Can I text ? Should I text ? Because there can be significant drawbacks to texting , it is recommended that you use it as a last resort, if calling is not possible. Here are some cons to texting The FCC states that all wireless carriers must deliver text-to messages to emergency call centers that request them. Each call center has their own discretion when it comes to implementing a plan to accept text-to messages.

To find out if call centers in your area accept text-to messages you can download the FCC registry , which is updated monthly. The file is an Excel spreadsheet, but will also open on Pages if you use a Mac. There are hundreds of entries and you can search your jurisdiction to find out where you can text As of May 29, , here are the states that are currently not listed in the FCC registry of areas where you can text from:.

If your area does not support texting , a bounce back message is immediate sent to you informing you that the message sending has failed. The goal is that these messages will reduce the risk of you believing your text has gone through to when it was in fact undelivered. If you get a bounce back message, you need to call rather than use SMS to text Even if your area does support text-to, calling is still the most reliable way to get through.