Marianna- The Jackson County Sheriff's Office got an upgraded 911 dispatch center. The old system had only been in place for five years, but as technology continues to rapidly advance, five years was too old.

"One of the biggest improvements is we've got updated maps" said Major, Donny Branch. "It gives us all the locations of fire departments, city halls- also schools. And the maps in the schools give us the diagrams in the classrooms" he added.

And the new service will soon be capable of carrying-out even more functions, as technology and communications progress.

In the coming years, people will be able to text, send a video, or even a picture message to 911 dispatchers. The technology is still being developed and has not been released yet. However, officials said the new operating system would be compatible when it hits the market.

In a business where time and accuracy are crucial, Branch told us these upgrades were a necessity.

"It will make a big difference in response time. It will give us more pin- point locations. Sometimes, seconds make a difference... If we have a kidnapping and that person has a cell phone, we could track their location almost in real time" Branch explained.

Branch said they hoped to have the new system fully operational by the end of Wednesday.