911 services showing signs of the times — in a good way.

Even though people often bash the evolving world of technology claiming it hinders relationships, this is one thing that can only improve.

According to WPTV, Palm Beach County’s next-generation 911 system is coming online with the capabilities to support the latest mobile technologies — text messages, photos and video.

Basically the 30 million dollar system will enable people to give more than just eye witness accounts. Someone can snap a photo of a crime in action, and send it almost instantly to the dispatchers. People can also send videos of fires and then send them to the firefighters so they know what to expect.

Furthermore, for a Silver Alert, friends and family could email a photo of the missing individual, and the dispatcher could then blast the photo to all media and law enforcement. This will not only speed up the process, but it will greatly increase the chances of finding a runaway, missing person, etc.

Even though text messaging is a feature that will be used in the future, “it likely will be several years before text messaging can be integrated into new  911 systems,” said Trey Forgety, a spokesman for the National Emergency Number  Association, which helps local governments implement 911 systems. (WPTV)