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Recently I saw a man (of color) breaking into cars. I snapped a photo and called the police, offering to send the pic so they could ID the actual guy and not hassle every non-white man in North Portland that day. The operator said she had no way to receive my photo. Do 911 operators really not have email? — First.Last@portlandoregon.gov
As your snarky pseudonym suggests, First, most (if not all) city employees have city-issued email addresses. What the operator was trying to say is that there's currently no established procedure for receiving electronic evidence from the public by text or email.
So what? Let's recast your question.
In this example, I work taking orders in a call center. At the end of each call, I take your card information for payment verbally, over the phone. That's the procedure.
Theoretically, of course, you could email your card number to me instead. Or you could text it to my personal phone, or perhaps jot it down on a slip of paper and leave it for me at the front desk.
All of these things would work, but I'm not going to let you do them. Perhaps my workstation doesn't have access to email, or maybe my company has rules governing personal access to customer information, or maybe I have a quota of 120 orders an hour and I don't have time for your reindeer games.
And don't forget the old saw about how if I make an exception for you, I have to make one for everybody. Soon, one seemingly reasonable request has multiplied into an avalanche of bullshit.
This is why we have procedures. The best the 911 operator can do currently is make a note that you have a photo, so if the cops decide they want it later they can contact you.
But help is on the way! A nationwide initiative known as "Next Generation 911" is underway that will rework the 911 system to include exactly the sort of procedure you're demanding.
Of course, the creation of new procedures is itself a procedure, and the new system will require infrastructure improvements at the national, state and local levels. It'll happen eventually, but if this is a life-threatening emergency, please hang up and dial 911.
