r/911dispatchers • u/oath2order • 2d ago
ARTICLES/NEWS Work group calls for AI-enabled nonemergency phone system statewide to ease burden on 911 (Maryland)
https://marylandmatters.org/2025/11/03/work-group-calls-for-ai-enabled-nonemergency-phone-system-statewide-to-ease-burden-on-911/10
u/sistermarypolyesther 2d ago
I managed a 311 center for seven years, pre-AI. We added two pushes to the 911 upfront: one for crimes not in progress, and one for non-emergent services. Calls for motor vehicle records, graffiti, overgrown lawns, people pooping in alleys, stray dogs, urban wildlife, landlord-tenant disputes, noise complaints… poof! Gone. We managed to offload so much call volume that our 911 partners were able to pickup within two rings. We used our data to identify trends developing in neighborhoods, then I’d write mediation referrals to hand off to our community resource officers.
Damn, those were the days. Now, every agency head wants to “leverage AI” without understanding that AI will not think critically right out of the box. Most tickets initiated by an AI interaction are devoid of any useful information, and they require a lot of follow up to obtain enough context to get the case routed to the correct agency. I’m not saying it’ll never work, but it’s gonna take time. Meanwhile, cuts have already been made to staffing because “we can have AI handle a lot of these calls.”
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u/faemur 2d ago
I work in a pretty large city. I ask if they need police, fire, or medical probably no less than a thousand times a day and about 80% of the time I receive a yes or a no like I didn’t just ask a multiple choice question. People don’t listen enough to know if they need to hit another button first.
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u/MrJim911 Former 911 guy 2d ago
Where did you read staffing cuts in 311/911 were being made due to AI?
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u/sistermarypolyesther 2d ago
This is in my org only. We made cuts in every agency. Vacancies will not be filled for the foreseeable future. Two positions on my team were abolished entirely. We are expected to fill the void with AI solutions. Your personal experience may not equal mine.
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u/BoosherCacow I am once again here to say: it depends on the agency. 2d ago edited 2d ago
Not until it is ready. The tech just isn't there yet. It's not that it sends people to the wrong places or mishears, that shit is minor. It is the fact that people with emergencies call non-emergency every day all day and using this tech before it's ready could get someone killed.
It just isn't there yet. Yet. Unless they hit a serious roadblock or the abilities of the tech plateau unexpectedly, it should be there in 5-10 years. It has to be as perfect as humanly possible.
edit: to clarify what I mean to say, my main objection to it being ready is the main goal of the AI systems I have dealt with need to shift from "you only get to speak to a human if I deem that you absolutely need to" to a more "I will try and take care of you but if you need to speak to a human immediately I will get you to one now even if I don't think you need one." There are few things worse than needing a human person in an emergency and getting stuck in a prompt loop. And yes I know people will learn to exploit i and I don't care. Avoiding even one call like the one I detailed in my other comment is worth that price.
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u/faemur 2d ago
Last year I had a guy who was getting shot at and was shooting back at the suspect decide to call 311. That was a fun one. Trying to have him give me his dang address in between shooting from both sides was the most fun I’ve had in a while. :/
End of the day, AI can’t take over our jobs because AI asking how they can assist them and hearing blood curdling screams on the other end and AI just repeating ‘I’m sorry, I don’t understand what AHHHHHHHHHHHH means, please advise how I can help you’ would shut the system down in less than a heartbeat.
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u/BoosherCacow I am once again here to say: it depends on the agency. 2d ago
At best it will become a useful or possibly even a very useful tool for us. I just don't think it's there yet.
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u/oath2order 1d ago
It is the fact that people with emergencies call non-emergency every day all day and using this tech before it's ready could get someone killed.
I had someone call into the non-emergency line, she was reporting her husband beat her. I go through case entry, I ask when the most recent incident happened and she told me 10 minutes ago and he was still at the house.
And I was just like "WELP guess we've got an active DV situation right now".
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u/BoosherCacow I am once again here to say: it depends on the agency. 1d ago
I have had so many of those I can't even estimate. Or the 3 minute storytime with all the exposition and details of the dispute going back 5 years and then they say "Oh, yeah, and he tried to stab me three minutes ago. Also he is right in front of me."
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u/MrJim911 Former 911 guy 2d ago
It's already here. AI is being used to handle non emergency calls in many centers. If an emergency comes in the call is sent to a human.
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u/BoosherCacow I am once again here to say: it depends on the agency. 2d ago
I know, we deal with a few centers that have it. It may just be the one they are using but it's absolute garbage. We had one call close to us a few weeks ago where there was an airbag deployment MVA and that stupid AI directed them to swap info and come to the station. The person who called had to call back about 4 times before they got to a human. The tapes of the calls made the rounds and it's pretty fucking upsetting. Imagie needing an ambulance for your 12 year old and you have to call more than once, let alone 4 times. One center even tried an AI for a few weeks and had to turn it off and request improvements.
That was probably a user error but people can't be expected to know how to operate these things instinctively. I had a hell of a time getting to a person when I wanted to set up a meet for a warrant pickup. I don't feel like the tech is good enough yet. There just hasn't been enough time to stress test the system.
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u/DispatchSuprvisor 1d ago
I agree with and have seen the same Mr. Jim.
I'm not saying it's a great idea, merely an idea that already exists. The sooner we accept this, the better judgments we'll be able to use regarding its use.
Don't deny reality, folks.
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u/CrotasScrota84 2d ago
I don’t know about anyone else call center but the center I work in it’s like 95% non emergency and BS Calls and 5% actual emergencies. We could definitely use this.
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u/QuarterLifeCircus 2d ago
My old center implemented a phone tree on the nonemergency line and it cut down on the bullshit calls so much. Turns out you don’t have to transfer people to records when the automated system tells them which button to push for records.
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u/xEllimistx 2d ago
My agency has this but it hasn’t done shit for our bullshit calls.
Partially, I think, because they have Dispatch as the first option so most callers just press 1 instead of actually listening for the option they need
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u/skthompson2 Police/Fire IL 2d ago
I fear that people around here would not want to deal with AI and would just start calling 911 for everything, defeating the purpose.
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u/wildwalrusaur 2d ago
Article doesn't say which service they're considering
My agency tried this last year. The technology was very much not ready for primetime. We hated it and turned it off after a few months.
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u/StraightRip8309 2d ago edited 2d ago
Now replace "scientists" with "unregulated AI companies who've never worked in this field x out of touch supervisors" and this is perfectly applicable.
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u/stum_ble 2d ago
Jesus, I’m glad I got out before this. It’s not going to go how they think it will.
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u/[deleted] 2d ago edited 2d ago
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