Purple Communications™ Partners with Metropolitan Police Department for Unprecedented Communications Initiative Serving the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing in the Nation's Capitol

ROCKLIN, Calif., June 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Purple Communications™, Inc. (Pink Sheets: PRPL), a leading provider of text, video relay (VRS) and on-site interpreting services, announced today its partnership with the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), to supply proprietary video software technology utilizing Purple's cutting-edge P3 software which will allow the MPD to better respond to the needs of deaf and hard of hearing persons.  

There will be an official press announcement and demonstration on Wednesday, June 16, 2010 from 1:00-1:30 p.m. EDT as part of the "Purple Your Way" open house at the Kellogg Conference Center at Gallaudet University.  MPD Chief Cathy Lanier and Gallaudet University President Dr. Alan Hurwitz will join Purple to discuss this ground-breaking effort benefitting the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.

"Purple is a strong advocate for functional equivalency, which ensures that the deaf and hard of hearing community will have equal opportunity to communicate with the same ease as hearing persons," said Purple Vice Chairman Ronald E. Obray.  "As part of our efforts, we seek out strong partnerships with organizations and agencies like the Metropolitan Police Department that are extremely progressive in their willingness to serve a community that is too often overlooked. Chief Lanier has been an instrumental part of this initiative.  We believe that when other police departments learn how our services will benefit their mission, that they will follow MPD's lead and implement similar programs to serve their deaf and hard of hearing citizens."

The program, which is already under implementation is being piloted at no current cost to MPD and is already available within all seven patrol districts and three substations.  In addition, MPD is the first police department in the nation to outfit squad cars with the VRS technology.  It has outfitted 15 take-home scout cars with the software and an integrated easy-to-call MPD telephone directory that allows officers to make available to deaf and hard of hearing persons access to MPD services through the use of VRS.  In addition, the software has been installed in seven detectives' offices and in six specialized units that include homicide, check and fraud, sex branch, internal affairs bureau, youth investigations branch and the MPD mobile command bus utilized for major events, including parades, inaugurals and demonstrations.

The program will be evaluated for effectiveness and future use after the initial pilot phase.  For more information on the Purple/MPD pilot program and P3 software, email [email protected].

About Purple Communications

Purple Communications is a leading provider of onsite interpreting services, video relay and text relay services, and video remote interpreting, offering a wide array of options designed to meet the varied communication needs of its customers. The company's vision is to enable free-flowing communication between people, inclusive of differences in abilities, languages, or locations. For more information on the company or its services, visit www.purple.us, by Internet relay by visiting www.ip-relay.com, or by video phone by connecting to purple.tv.

"Purple," and the Purple logo are registered trademarks of Purple Communications, Inc., "IP-Relay.com," and "P3" are either registered trademarks, trademarks, or service marks of Purple Communications, Inc. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Warning concerning the use of VRS or IP-Relay for 911 calls: TTY calls are still the best means for emergency personnel to quickly identify a person's location. In an emergency, dial 9-1-1 using a landline telephone or a TTY to ensure immediate attention and identification of your location.  At present, VRS and IP Relay cannot guarantee an immediate answer to your call nor transmit your location information directly to emergency responders.

SOURCE Purple Communications, Inc.