MILWAUKEE — As police agencies continue to face staffing shortages and rising call volumes, two Wisconsin counties are turning to artificial intelligence to handle non-emergency requests — freeing dispatchers to focus on higher-priority calls for service, Wisconsin Public Radio reports.
La Crosse County has already deployed the technology, while Waukesha County is preparing to roll out a similar system later this year.
| REGISTER: Training the brain: Turning stress science into automatic performance
AI system handles thousands of calls in La Crosse County
La Crosse County began using an AI-powered platform called Aurelian to answer non-emergency calls earlier this year. According to county officials, the system has already handled more than 40,000 calls.
Cory Lynch, operations supervisor at La Crosse County Public Safety Communications, said the technology is not replacing dispatchers but serving as an additional tool.
“This isn’t taking the spot of any of the dispatcher staff,” Lynch said. “This is a force multiplier. It’s a tool to make the job more efficient.”
The county’s communications center handles all non-emergency calls for local police departments. Many of those calls involve basic requests, such as questions about parking citations, jail information or courthouse services.
“By virtue of being a 24/7 department, we’ve just become a default for anything related to municipalities or police departments or law enforcement,” Lynch said.
Before implementing the AI system, dispatchers often had to place non-emergency callers on hold while responding to 911 calls.
“The AI agent can handle that without putting them on hold, and can direct them to somebody that’s even more knowledgeable than the dispatcher is in certain areas,” Lynch told WPR. “It’s allowing the dispatcher to focus on the higher priority, the higher acuity calls for service.”
How the AI system works
When someone calls the non-emergency number in La Crosse County, the AI agent — known as “Ava” — answers the call. If a caller has a routine question, such as how to pay a parking ticket, the system asks where the citation was issued and routes the call to the appropriate municipality.
If a caller reports an emergency through the non-emergency line, the system is designed to recognize certain keywords and immediately transfer the call to a 911 dispatcher. County officials said callers can also request to speak with a human at any point during the call.
Waukesha County prepares for rollout amid staffing shortages
Waukesha County is testing a similar AI system and plans to fully implement it by the end of the year, according to Chris Becker, operations manager for Waukesha County Communications. The agency is currently short approximately five full-time employees.
“Our call-takers can go from providing CPR instructions on one call to answering the next call, and it’s a question about Fourth of July fireworks,” Becker told WPR. “That’s the stuff that they shouldn’t have to worry about.”
In addition to answering calls, the AI system can send text messages to callers with information such as parade routes or fireworks viewing locations based on where they live.
“The goal would be to eliminate the calls that our dispatchers shouldn’t have to see or shouldn’t have to take,” Becker said.
Growing interest around AI in public safety
Wisconsin is not alone in adopting AI for non-emergency call handling. Similar systems are already in use in parts of Michigan and Minnesota. Lynch said at least eight other Wisconsin counties have contacted La Crosse County to learn more about the technology.
As more agencies explore AI-assisted call handling, officials say clear communication and safeguards will be critical to maintaining public trust — while ensuring dispatchers can stay focused on emergencies that require immediate human response.
