San Mateo Police to Livestream 911 Calls to Officers for Better Response

The San Mateo Police Department on Wednesday announced it will now livestream 911 calls to officers responding to incidents.

Livestreaming the calls will provide officers with better situational awareness and help the officers make appropriate decisions when responding to calls, according to police.

Officers will be able to see the location of the caller on a map, be able to develop a response plan while driving to a call, and receive immediate situational updates including location changes, information to de-escalate situations and other small details that will help officers respond to scenes safer and faster, police said.

First responders will be able to hear the interactions between the caller and call taker and will hear answers to questions, first-hand descriptions, emotional tones and background noise at the scene.

These factors will help officers make a more informed response to an incident, police said.