‘It will save lives:’ Bend Police become first in Oregon to deploy Live911, cutting response times by minutes

(Update: adding comment and video from Bend Police)

BEND, Ore, (KTVZ). -- Bend Police have implemented a new, live dispatch system in most of their patrol cars, allowing officers to hear nearby 911 dispatch calls livestreamed in real time, with the potential to shave precious minutes off response times.

Bend PD Lt. Brian Beekman has become expert on using the technology and its impact. While discussing the potential impact on the local community, he said, "I don't think it's an overstatement to say: It will save lives." 

The software is called Live911 and livestreams 911 calls directly to officers in the field, while also going to dispatchers for follow-up. Bend Police say they are the first department in Oregon to have acquired and implemented this technology. 

"I think it shows a willingness on the part of Bend Police Department to try new things (and) to adopt new technology,” Beekman said. The goal, he said, is “to partner with other public safety agencies to respond better in the community and get better outcomes."

Adopting the software has been in the works since 2022, with Bend officers first traveling to San Diego to see it in action, Last year, they tested the system with Deschutes County 911. This year, the department officially adopted the technology, and now has about 20 trained officers and patrol cars equipped with it. 

Previously, dispatchers relayed information to officers, common just about everywhere. Live911 takes the geographic location of an officer's vehicle and creates a radius of a few miles. When calls are made to 911 within that radius, officers can pick up the call and head directly to the location, rather than waiting to be dispatched. 

Beekman said the system allows for seconds, even minutes to be shaved off response times in an emergency. 

Lieutenant Beekman explained the process: "Officer logs into their mobile computer in their car, and they set a radius around themselves. Let's say it's one mile. What the Live911 system does is, any emergency 911 call that happens within that one-mile radius streams real-time audio to their computer in their car. They can hear the call, go there immediately, and it can eliminate two, four, six minutes off of their response time."

The software was designed by law enforcement specifically to be simple, seamless and accessible while driving. 

Beekman demonstrated how it worked in a patrol car: "This is a queue for calls over here. So, if there were, let's say, four calls going, they would all stack up in a queue along this portion of the screen.”

“There are emergency calls that we may not be able to help with, so they'll dismiss that call and not respond to it. But they will respond to calls that they can make a difference."

The technology is giving a greater advantage to the police department in responding to emergencies throughout the city. Beekman noted how the system is improving efficiency and can make a major difference, giving one example. 

“We had a medical call on the east side of town a few months ago," he said. "There were seconds involved where if this person didn't receive medical care, they would have lost their lives. Because the officers could respond several minutes quicker before the call was even dispatched, it saved that person's life."

Beekman said he's talked with other local public safety agencies interested in possibly deploying the technology, which cost Bend Police about $11,000.