UK police to use AI to screen non-emergency calls
Key Points
- AI will screen 101 calls and redirect non-police enquiries before callers reach a handler.
- Around four million of the 20 million calls made to 101 each year are meant for other organisations.
- The system is expected to save policing up to £8.5 million a year, backed by £1.4 million of government funding.
- Callers must confirm the system's reading of their query, and can still ask to speak to a handler.
- The 999 emergency line is unchanged.
AI software will start screening calls to the police’s 101 non-emergency line, redirecting enquiries meant for other organisations before the caller joins a queue.
The 101 service takes 20 million calls a year, and around 20% of those are for bodies such as local councils, NHS 111 or the 105 power outage helpline.
Call handlers currently only identify those calls after speaking to the person, which lengthens waits for everyone behind them in the queue.
The line also fields complaints on delayed pizza deliveries, slow service at the pub and requests for a lift. During pilots, the system even screened out a missing umbrella.
The Home Office and the National Police Chiefs’ Council developed the system with Vodafone Business, backed by £1.4 million of government funding.
It uses an AI model to match the reason someone is calling to a set of likely reasons, then sends non-police issues to the correct agency. The Home Office estimates the change will save policing up to £8.5 million a year.
How the calls will work
Callers hear how the system has understood their reason for calling and must accept or reject that reading.
Broad categories trigger additional safeguarding questions, and any doubt sends the call straight through to the police without delay. Anyone who wants to speak to a handler can still do so. The 999 system has not changed.
Fifteen police forces ran pilots, diverting damage-only road traffic incidents, fly tipping and noise complaints to the right agencies.
The Home Office said it tested the model against different accents and phrasings to check its performance holds up. Use will vary by force depending on the telephone menu services each already runs.
“Police call handlers are wasting hours fielding calls meant for other organisations. Every minute spent on these calls is time taken away from helping people who genuinely need their support,” said Sarah Jones, Crime and Policing Minister.
“This innovation addresses a long-standing challenge in public contact by using AI to triage and redirect non-police calls. It’ll help forces manage demand more effectively, freeing up call handlers to focus on those who genuinely need police support,” said Stuart Hooper, A/Deputy Chief Constable and National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Contact Operations.
The government is putting £16.5 million into modernising contact between the police and the public. That programme also covers AI that transcribes 999 and 101 calls and links crime reports to identify patterns in demand.
“Neighbourhood Watch volunteers and supporters have long fed back on the delays and poor service from the overloaded 101 service reported to them from local members of the public.
“By directing non-policing calls to the right organisation at the start, it will help reduce waiting times for the public, protect vital police resources, and ensure officers and call handlers can focus on tackling crime, safeguarding vulnerable people and supporting victims,” said John Hayward-Cripps, CEO of Neighbourhood Watch Network.
