Life-saving 911 innovations now available statewide

A 911 call is made but disconnects shortly after it's answered. The dispatcher calls back twice; on the second call, a woman is able to answer "yes" to the question "do you have an emergency?" before quickly hanging up. Because of Next Generation 911 mapping technology, phone data and law enforcement coordination, a woman who had been run over by a man and then put in his vehicle got help when she couldn't speak freely to 911.

A 911 call is made about a father who allegedly kidnapped his children. Because smart transcription is incorporated into Next Generation 911, an emergency call quickly sent a text message to officers that there was a possible kidnapping situation underway. The police department's drone operator was alerted to the relevant details and was able to use cameras to quickly find the suspect.

These examples were provided by Phoenix-area law enforcement of how updates to the state's 911 systems have already improved emergency services for Arizonans.

The $48.5 million Next Generation 911 deployment was years in the making, offering technological innovations that make 911 services more accurate, accessible and resilient statewide.

The project represents a quantum leap forward for modernizing public safety infrastructure and serving community safety needs in all corners of the state, regardless of population or resources.

"Implementing this life-saving technology is a game changer for sheriff's deputies across the state. Our deputies often patrol rural areas, and having this technology allows those men and women to respond as quickly as possible to potentially life-threatening events," said Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes, president of the Arizona Sheriffs Association. "Our 911 operators must sort out a situation often during stressful phone calls. This technology now allows our dispatchers to focus on other areas of the emergency and still get the location directly to first responders."

A total of 79 public safety answering points (also known as PSAPs or 911 dispatch centers) are now operating on Next Generation 911. The Navajo County Sheriff's Office was the first dispatch center to migrate in June 2022; the last, Phoenix Police Department, was completed on May 20, 2025. These dispatch centers receive calls for service for 131 law enforcement agencies, 179 fire agencies, 13 ambulatory agencies and 20 parks and recreation agencies.

Paid for through a combination of local 911 taxes collected on phone lines ($25.9 million) and federal funding ($22.5 million), the $48.5 million transformation doesn't stop here. Future funding will support further 911 innovations, including support for additional tribal communities.

Over the last few years, the Arizona Department of Administration has been updating the 1960s-era, landline-based system to something that can serve people better, especially since most emergency calls now come from cell phones. ADOA took on the tasks of assessing and standardizing the available geographic information data that is integral to how Next Gen 911 functions, as well as working with law enforcement and vendors on the complexities of migrating dispatch centers to the new system and ensuring that all networks and tools worked compatibly every step of the way.

Updating these tools means:

• Emergency responders can zero in on your longitude and latitude within 3 feet when you call or text 911 from a cell phone.
• Calls from landlines will be traced to updated coordinates instead of outdated billing addresses.
• 911 call centers receive automatic system updates in a cloud environment instead of lengthy manual fixes.
• There is redundancy in the system to prevent 911 outages.
• Anywhere in the state, people can text 911 if they're in a situation where they can't speak, don't have good service or don't have much battery life.
• Anywhere in the state, people can send pictures, video and audio files to 911 via text or another service, helping 911 operators triage emergency services and get first responders prepared for what they will be walking into. The images are also available for any subsequent police reports or judicial proceedings.

Arizona Department of Administration Director Elizabeth Alvarado-Thorson said this milestone reflects her agency's commitment to serving community needs across Arizona.

"Years of work from the Arizona Department of Administration's 911 team, alongside law enforcement and local partners, has focused on the goal of making sure that emergency services can be more accessible and accurate for people calling for help from all corners of Arizona. Thanks to the coordination and leadership of the 911 team, we are already seeing life-saving improvements to emergency services in Arizona," she said.

All new call handling equipment was installed at each dispatch center to provide state-of-the-art equipment and software for Next Gen 911 call taking and processing. The new network was implemented with redundancy in mind: Previously, one broken cable could cut off access to emergency services in some rural areas.

Coordinating the upgrades was an enormous undertaking that included updated geographical data sets and working with service providers including AT&T.

"AT&T's investments in modern communications infrastructure like NG911 and FirstNet reflect our commitment to public safety and the communities we serve," said Wes Anderson, AT&T senior vice president, public sector and FirstNet. "This was our most aggressive project timeline yet for this type of deployment, which helped ensure Arizona communities got the quickest possible access to life-saving features like translation and video capabilities, as well as FirstNet integration to provide further reliability for 911 across the state."

Next Gen 911 benefits people calling 911, but it also offers more support to public safety professionals throughout the state, including better communication and data sharing across jurisdictions and better situational awareness - first responders receive more detailed and timely information.

"The Next Gen 911 system has been an incredible step forward in our effort to leverage new technologies and add marked efficiency and effectiveness to our responses to emergency situations," said Scottsdale Police Department Chief of Police Joe LeDuc.

Chandler Assistant Police Chief Melissa Deanda said the accuracy and efficiency improvements are invaluable.

"Next Gen 911 ensures our officers arrive at scenes with the most accurate and timely information possible. Knowing a caller's exact location and potentially having access to photos or videos that paint a clearer picture of the situation is crucial to keeping both our officers and community safe," she said. "We're grateful to Governor Hobbs and her team for prioritizing this program, which directly supports our mission to maintain a safe and vibrant community through continuous organizational improvement."

Arizona Department of Public Safety Director Col. Jeffrey Glover said this milestone is a significant advancement in emergency communications in our state.

"This statewide implementation of Next Generation 911 marks a critical milestone in public safety for Arizona," he said. "Our ability to respond quickly and effectively to emergencies depends on having the best possible tools in the hands of dispatchers and our troopers. With this new system, we now have greater precision, faster communication, and more robust data sharing across jurisdictions - capabilities that are already helping to save lives and protect communities across our state."

For more information on the state's Next Generation 911 system, please visit https://az911.gov.

Contact: Timothy Tait, ADOA
[email protected]
602-826-5406