AI to Revolutionize Non-Emergency Call Handling in Phoenix
In a groundbreaking move to improve efficiency, the Phoenix Police Department is set to implement an AI system designed to manage the city’s overwhelming number of non-emergency calls. This initiative aims to alleviate the burden on 911 dispatchers, allowing them to focus on urgent situations.
The shift comes after Vice Mayor Ann O’Brien highlighted the need for better handling of calls made to Crime Stoppers, the designated non-emergency number. O’Brien noted, “And more and more people were telling me about extraordinarily long wait times. And if we were lucky, they would stay on hold and get answered, but often residents were getting so frustrated. They were hanging up, which means things weren’t getting reported.”
The introduction of AI will help streamline the process by efficiently categorizing the nature of incoming calls and directing them to the appropriate resources. The system, which supports 36 languages, is expected to go live on Wednesday. Despite the technological advancement, callers will still have the option to speak with a human representative if preferred.
O’Brien also emphasized the strain on current 911 dispatchers, stating, “And so an already stressful job was becoming even more stressful by having this backlog. We have more vacancies than we would like to have in the dispatcher department, so it just kept compounding the problem.”
With this new system, the Phoenix Police Department anticipates a significant reduction in dispatcher stress levels and a more efficient handling of calls, ensuring that both emergency and non-emergency needs are promptly addressed.
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