JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. – Residents in Jefferson County may or may not noticed the difference, but their 911 system underwent a major tech upgrade, bringing the system into the 21st century with newer, lifesaving accuracy.

High atop a hilltop off Highway 21, telecommunicators in the Jefferson County 911 Dispatch Center are responding to calls for help, but now they can have more pinpoint accuracy when responding to an emergency.

“So, across the country, and here in Jefferson County, the Next Gen 911 solution takes you from the old analog phone system into the digital age,” Jefferson County 911 Chief John Whitehead said. “…As technology changes, we’re going to be able to build with it.”

Jefferson County joins a growing list of municipalities and 911 centers like St. Louis City, St. Charles City, and St. Charles County using the Next Gen system.

“Now, as we do the text to 911, we’re getting an accurate location of where that text is coming from,” Whitehead said. “We always call 911. Some people are more familiar with texting as they are picking up the phone. But if you can’t, now you can text and you can have a conversation here back at the data center, and then we’ll get units in route.”

As technology advances, Chief Whitehead says the system will eventually be able to accept photos and video.

“Now whenever they call, we’re no longer going to triangulate,” Whitehead said. “We’re going to pull that data from their device themselves. I like it to 'Find My Device.' We can do the similar thing on the back end and it’s pinpointing that location and it’s providing that to us.”

Accuracy which can help first responders provide lifesaving measures when needed the most.