Brantford Police launches AI assistant for non-emergency calls

(@BrantfordPolice/X)

The Brantford Police Service (BPS) will begin using an artificial intelligence-powered voice assistant to help manage non-emergency calls starting May 6.

The technology, developed by Canadian public safety technology company Hyper, will be introduced on the service’s non-emergency phone line and is designed to help direct callers to appropriate information and resources more efficiently, according to the service.

“The AI assistant handles only non-emergency calls, asking a short series of questions to determine how best to help the caller,” a media release read, in part. “Depending on the situation, it may provide information directly, guide callers to online reporting, connect them with City of Brantford services or transfer them to a BPS communicator.”

According to police, if the system detects a potential emergency, does not understand a caller, or encounters a situation outside its programming, the call will be transferred to a human operator.

The system will operate 24 hours a day and supports multiple languages. Police said calls will be recorded and transcribed, and the system will be monitored and adjusted as needed.

Brantford Police said they are among several services in Canada that have recently adopted similar technology to help manage call volumes on non-emergency lines.