Artificial Intelligence answering non-emergency calls to the city of Bryan and Brazos County's 9-1-1 center

This podcast is a visit with the executive director of Brazos County 9-1-1 Patrick Corley and WTAW's Bill Oliver.Tuesday (November 18) began the trial period of artificial intelligence (A.I.) being used in the Brazos County 9-1-1 dispatch center.Executive director Patrick Corley says A.I. will greet callers to the non-emergency phone number for the city of Bryan and unincorporated areas of Brazos County.Callers will be asked to give the same information to A.I. as they would to a dispatcher.Corley says the technology can also detect when the non-emergency call could be an emergency.Corley says A.I. is being used to reduce the nearly 200,000 non-emergency calls handled by dispatchers last year. That compares with almost 50,000 emergency calls last year.News release from Brazos County 9-1-1:The Brazos County 9-1-1 District manages 9-1-1 services in Brazos County and operates the multijurisdictional dispatch center serving police, fire, and EMS agencies in the City of Bryan and Brazos County. We are pleased to announce the launch of an automated non-emergency triage system in our dispatch center.Developed by Prepared, an Axon company, the platform rapidly connects non-emergency callers to the appropriate resources while preserving critical personnel for urgent emergencies.Brazos County 9-1-1 has partnered with Prepared for several years to deploy advanced emergency communications technologies, including text messaging, live video streaming, real-time language translation, and call transcription.In 2024, our dispatch center answered 49,917 emergency calls and processed nearly 200,000 non-emergency calls. This latest enhancement from Prepared will strengthen our ability to respond efficiently and effectively to both emergency and non-emergency needs across the community.In the coming weeks, callers to the non-emergency line for Bryan and Brazos County, (979) 361-3888, will communicate with an AI assistant capable of dynamically responding to requests in English and Spanish. Issues such as abandoned vehicles, noise complaints, or other matters not requiring an immediate response will be managed by the AI assistant, which will quickly identify the caller’s needs and escalate them to the emergency line when necessary.Limited real-world testing will begin immediately, with full deployment anticipated later this month.Brazos County 9-1-1 personnel will continuously monitor the non-emergency line to ensure any true emergencies are identified without delay. As always, callers should dial 9-1-1 for emergencies.This launch follows several months of preparation and testing in a simulated environment to ensure the platform meets the needs of our dispatch center and the community. In close collaboration with Prepared’s customer success team, we have developed and implemented policies that ensure the system performs reliably across a wide range of scenarios.Prepared, by Axon, is a mission-driven organization committed to improving public safety. While developing an app to help mitigate school emergencies, the team identified significant gaps in the data captured through traditional 9-1-1 processes and set out to address them by creating Prepared. Since its public launch in October 2021, the platform has supported agencies serving more than 90 million people across 49 states.