The future of dispatch: 5 workflows police departments should prepare for

National (USA) Emergency Medical Services (EMS) call volume has generally increased by 4% to 10% annually over the past five years. National reporting via the NEMSIS 2024 Dataset recorded 60,298,684 EMS activations. International (EMS) call volumes have increased by an average of 6% annually over the past five years.

Drivers of increased demand include an aging population (age over 65 years) with nearly 50% of all EMS utilization and growing 6% to 8% annually; behavioral health crises with calls for mental health and substance abuse rose 24% between 2017 and 202; chronic disease leading to a steady 5% to 8% annual rise in calls and an increase in low-acuity calls post the Covid pandemic.

Despite the rise in EMS call volume, the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) reports severe staffing shortages, with annual turnover among EMTs and paramedics reaching 20% to 30%, forcing many agencies to lengthen their standard response times.

There has been a significant and sustained increase in low-acuity (non-emergency) call volume to EMS systems over the last five years. Recent data suggests that as much as 70% of all 911 calls are categorized as non-emergent. In some regions, like New York City in 2024, response times for life-threatening emergencies hit record lows specifically due to an "excessive amount of low-priority calls".

One dispatch workflow we expect to see changing in the next 3-5 years is how agencies deal with the increase in low-acuity 911 calls.

Some mitigation efforts include a tiered deployment of resources with approximately 36% of agencies now using alternate response units for low-acuity calls to keep advanced life support (ALS) ambulances free for critical emergencies; extended wait times; some systems have intentionally increased response time goals for low-acuity calls to 25, 60 or even 90 minutes (higher in some UK based EMS systems) to prioritize high-acuity patients and secondary nurse triage of low acuity 911 calls which can redirect 40%-45% of low-acuity call volume to alternative resources in the community other than using an ambulance to the hospital.

Agencies should be looking more closely at getting resources in place to incorporate nurse triage of low-acuity 911 calls to cope with the ever-increasing EMS call demand. This may include securing funding, staffing and public outreach campaigns in order to facilitate this program.

One dispatch workflow that will look fundamentally different in the next 3–5 years is how information is gathered and shared between callers, dispatchers and responding officers. Today, our system relies heavily on verbal descriptions, often provided under stress and usually inconsistent across multiple callers.

What we are already seeing, however, is a shift in public behavior. Community members are often quicker to activate their cellphone cameras than they are to call 911. That reality points to the next evolution of emergency communications: a transition from audio-based reporting to real-time visual intelligence.

In the near future, dispatchers may no longer ask, “Can you describe the suspect?” but instead, “Can you show me?” With the caller’s consent, dispatch centers will be able to receive live video feeds directly from the scene, providing a clear, unified view of what is unfolding. Rather than managing multiple, and sometimes conflicting, descriptions, dispatchers and officers will have access to the same real-time information.

This will be more than a technology upgrade; it will be a transformation in how we understand and respond to emergencies. Many of us have experienced situations where critical information was delayed or incomplete. Moving to real-time visual input could close that gap and improve outcomes for both the community and our personnel.

Departments should take a proactive, strategic approach to this evolution by evaluating and piloting secure, real-time video integration platforms that can seamlessly connect callers, dispatch and field personnel. At the same time, agencies must prepare their workforce for a shift from audio-based communication to a visual information environment, where dispatchers and officers are trained to interpret, assess, and act on live video in real time.

My primary focus is related to how AI will impact our Communications Officers (COs). Will the AI machine take over, no longer need them or change their primary duties in way that they feel as if their KSAs are not important? Will they feel replaced or reduce the level or responsibility? We know that the dispatch workflow that will look completely different in the next 3–5 years is call intake and incident processing, primarily due to the integration of AI and NG911 into 911 public safety communications environment. AI will significantly enhance how information is gathered, prioritized, and shared—from live video feeds and automatic crash notifications to health data from mobile devices and instant access to caller history, prior incidents and medical information.

The challenge will not be access to information but managing the overwhelming amount of it. Our COs already operate under extreme pressure, and AI will increase expectations for faster decisions, improved accuracy and immediate quality assurance. Agencies will also see impacts on staffing models, training, and performance management as real-time analytics and review become standard.

However, AI should be viewed as a tool not a replacement for the CO. The human element remains critical. Experienced COs have the instinct and judgment that technology cannot replicate. They can hear stress in a caller’s voice during a domestic violence callback when the caller insists everything is fine, recognize when an officer’s tone signals distress, or detect when something simply does not feel right based on context and experience.

Agencies should prepare now by focusing on balanced leadership, training and policy development that supports AI as an enhancement to human decision-making, not a substitute for it. The future of dispatch must preserve the value of professional judgment while responsibly leveraging technology to improve service and responder safety.

One dispatch workflow that will look completely different in the next 3–5 years is how telecommunicators manage service-based requests, particularly those that do not require immediate law enforcement intervention, such as towing coordination.

Today, these workflows rely heavily on manual intake: radio traffic, phone calls, and telecommunicators acting as the central hub between officers, tow providers and the public. This adds significant cognitive load in an already high-stress environment where telecommunicators are managing critical incidents, emotional callers and constant liability.

In the near future, we will see a shift toward AI-assisted, multimodal workflows. An officer on scene will be able to submit a photo or short video, and the system will interpret the situation, identify the need for a tow, determine the appropriate equipment and initiate the request automatically. Location, vehicle condition and even situational context will be captured without requiring multiple verbal exchanges. The system will route the request to the most appropriate provider based on proximity, policy and availability, while providing real-time updates to all parties.

Telecommunicators will remain essential, but their role will evolve into oversight, validation and exception management rather than manual coordination.

To prepare, agencies should invest now in integrated, secure, cloud-based platforms and begin exploring AI capabilities that augment, not replace, human decision-making. Just as important is designing these tools with telecommunicators in mind, reducing friction, minimizing repetitive tasks and ultimately lowering stress.

At Autura, we believe the future of dispatch is not just faster. It is smarter, more connected and intentionally designed to better support the people doing one of the hardest jobs in public safety.

Over the next five years, one of the most dramatic shifts in emergency dispatching will be the evolution from traditional “send the nearest unit” models to systems focused on resource optimization and care navigation. Emergency communications centers nationwide are facing unprecedented rising call volumes, staffing shortages, behavioral health crises, hospital overcrowding and increasing healthcare costs. National EMS leaders are already calling for a redesign of response models to create a more sustainable and evidence-based emergency response system.

As a result, agencies are under growing pressure to reduce unnecessary ambulance transports, preserve EMS availability for true life-threatening emergencies, lower operational costs, and improve outcomes for patients experiencing mental health or substance use crises. In response, many systems are expanding alternative response programs that divert appropriate calls to mental health clinicians, nurse triage, telemedicine, or social service resources rather than dispatching a traditional police, fire, or EMS response.

This transformation will fundamentally change the role of emergency communications professionals. Dispatchers will increasingly function as real-time care navigators and resource coordinators, balancing patient needs, risk, and system capacity using enhanced triage protocols, integrated healthcare partnerships, and AI-assisted decision support tools.

To prepare, agencies should begin investing now in evidence-based protocol systems, interoperable technology, behavioral health partnerships and alternative response pathways. These types of investments are already paying big dividends across Ontario, Canada, where the province noted that expanding a medical protocol call taking system province-wide is helping prioritize and triage medical calls more effectively, with paramedics being dispatched sooner to the most urgent incidents.

In Ottawa, periods when no ambulances were available to respond dropped dramatically, while hospital offload delays and emergency response times also improved. Local officials credit the new dispatch triage system, additional paramedic investments and hospital coordination initiatives for the gains.