Sonoma State University

Text to 911

Sonoma State Police Department is excited to announce a new service on campus to better serve and protect our campus and community. “Text to 9-1-1,” is a service for faculty, staff, students, and community members who may be deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability, or who cannot safely call 9-1-1 in a dangerous situation. SSU will be implementing this service concurrently with our local partner agencies in the coming weeks with full implementation expected by September 30, 2020.

“Call if you can, text if you can’t” 

Dialing 9-1-1 in an emergency is still the preferred way to request help. Text to 9-1-1 emergency response requires a cell phone that has the capability to send text messages, and location services must be enabled. Currently, the texting service is only available in English, however, other language solutions are in development and will be implemented as soon as they become available.  Also, at this time, the system cannot receive photos and videos.

Tips on texting 9-1-1 in an emergency:

  • In the first text message sent to 9-1-1, be sure to include clear information about the location of the emergency (including building or area and city), and the type of help needed (police, fire, or medical). Emergency personnel cannot always determine your location solely on location services information.
  • Be prepared to answer questions and follow instructions from the 9-1-1 call taker.
  • Text messages should be brief, easily understood, and should not contain abbreviations, emojis, or slang. 
  • Stay on the line until the dispatcher closes the dialog, if it is safe to do so.
  • You cannot include 9-1-1 in a group text or while roaming.
  • Don’t forget to silence your phone if you don’t want to be heard.
  • Do not text and drive.

SSU joins many other local law enforcement and fire agencies equipped to receive Text to 9-1-1 texts including: California Highway Patrol Golden Gate Division, Cotati Police Department, Petaluma Police Department, Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety, Santa Rosa Police Department, Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, and many other local agencies. While our campus remains open but limited in activities, UPD reminds the campus community to “See something, say something” and dial 9-1-1 for emergency response anytime while on campus.