PHOENIX — Starting Wednesday, the Phoenix Police Department will begin using artificial intelligence to help manage its high-volume nonemergency phone line, a move officials say will cut wait times and ease the load on overworked 911 operators.
Vice Mayor Ann O’Brien said some residents have faced waits of up to two hours before speaking to someone about nonurgent issues — a delay so long that many simply hang up. She discovered the bottleneck was due in part to the fact that 911 operators also answer the nonemergency line, leaving them stretched thin.
Looking for solutions, O’Brien learned about an AI-based call triage system used in Portland, Oregon, that handled about 24,000 nonemergency calls per month. Phoenix already works with Canadian software provider Versaterm, and will now roll out its CallTriage program locally.
The system begins by asking callers a series of questions to determine the nature of their concern and whether it requires urgent attention. It can communicate in 36 languages, and anyone who prefers to speak with a live person will still have that option.
Nonemergency calls — such as noise complaints, parking issues, reports of graffiti, or suspicious activity that does not pose immediate danger — can be made to 602-262-6151. The Phoenix Police Department receives more than half a million such calls annually.
Police dispatchers say the change will let them focus on true emergencies in what is already a high-pressure job prone to burnout. O’Brien hopes the new system will make it easier for residents to report concerns and help operators prioritize the most urgent situations.
