AI 'robots' answering West Midlands police 101 calls

People in the West Midlands who call the police's non-emergency 101 number may find their calls answered by a futuristic artificial intelligence (AI) service. Police chiefs are making use of the modern technology in an attempt to ensure calls are answered faster.

Victims of domestic violence, those at risk of suicide and people reporting missing children were among those whose calls were picked up by the AI system. Some of these calls might previously have been abandoned had victims been kept waiting too long for a human to pick up.

The AI computer system is able to flag more urgent calls which require immediate attention and divert them to call handlers. It answered 17,000 calls during a two-month trial, prioritising nearly 800 vulnerable callers in the process.

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Police chiefs hope it will prevent callers hanging up if they don't get through straightaway and, in the worst cases, potentially save lives. Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster said while AI "shouldn't replace human contact with the public", it made sense to make use of its benefits.

Mr Foster said: “I’m pleased to see that technology is being used by West Midlands Police to support its efforts in helping to keep people in our region safe. AI shouldn’t replace human contact with members of the public, but if it can help in the way that it has during this trial then that is to be welcomed.

“Artificial intelligence helps us use our mobile phones more easily, bank safely, heat our homes and commute to work. If it can do all that, then it is right that West Midlands Police use it to help keep you safe.”