Police force launches AI tool to reduce 101 calls
BBCA Yorkshire police force has launched a new "AI assistant" on its website in a bid to help reduce the number of 101 calls it receives.
South Yorkshire Police said the Bobbi chatbot could be used for advice and answers about non-emergency incidents. It cannot be used to report a crime or as an alternative to 999.
The technology, which launched on Thursday, has already been rolled out by other forces, including Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary, Thames Valley Police, and Humberside Police.
Ch Supt Cherie Buttle said: "Bobbi will be a useful tool to help reduce calls to 101, save members of the public time, and provide concise and reliable answers to frequently asked questions."
She added: "We receive more than 1,000 101 calls each day and we know that some callers can be waiting 20 minutes or more to speak to our staff during periods of high demand.
"By providing quick responses to non-emergency questions, Bobbi will enable those who prefer to use the AI assistant to save time otherwise spent calling 101 and enable those who do need to speak to one of our call handlers to get through quicker.
"I also recognise some people will have concerns around the use of AI, and I want to emphasise that Bobbi is a secure system. It is an alternative to, not a replacement, for some 101 calls."
The technology will use information provided by South Yorkshire Police to answer queries, rather than other AI assistant tools which work by scouring the internet.
In August the force launched a call handling system using AI software to triage calls to its non-emergency 101 number.
The system was aimed at cutting waiting times for people trying to report crimes by weeding out misdirected, nuisance and prank calls.
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