Who...or What, Should Answer the Phone?
AI is already answering non-emergency calls in one 911 center. Is it replacing dispatchers—or giving them back the attention they need when it matters most?
There are a lot of thoughts on AI in the 911 industry. They range anywhere from positive to overwhelmingly negative. We spend a lot of time talking about whether or not AI should ever answer a 911 call. Meanwhile AI is already beginning to answer another phone sitting in the communications center: the non-emergency line.
In Jonesboro, Arkansas AI has clocked in to work on the dispatch floor. The AI named Lezle (after a former Jonesboro dispatcher who passed away) is designed to handle non-emergency calls allowing dispatchers to focus on emergencies.
Let's be honest...dispatchers are busy. They may be monitoring radio traffic, entering a priority call, checking officer welfare, and answering the phone for someone who wants to know what time the animal shelter opens.
So here is the question: Does the same person really need to handle all of that?
I personally have some mixed emotions about it. I see the value. Any technology that gives dispatchers a little bit of their attention back so they can focus on less things is a win. At the same time, I see a need for caution. Not every "non-emergency" stays a non-emergency. People dial the admin line all the time because they don't think their situation qualifies as an emergency. The AI has to be able to recognize escalation quickly and hand that call off to a human without creating another barrier to the caller getting help.
The question probably isn't whether AI belongs in dispatch. In one form or another it's coming.
The better question is where do we put it. If technology can answer routine questions, handle administrative calls, and take a little bit of the noise away from the console, that is not really replacing telecommunicators at all.
Maybe it's finally letting the telecommunicator concentrate on the reason they are sitting there in the first place.
When the phone rings someone....or something has to answer. We just need to be very careful about deciding which calls require a human on the other end.
If you want to know more about Lezle and how Jonesboro 911 is utilizing AI check the link below.
