Plant City Police Department launches A.I. dispatcher for non-emergency calls
PLANT CITY, Fla. - The next time you call the Plant City Police Department’s non-emergency line you may be communicating with ‘AVA’, the agency’s new Aurelian A.I. dispatcher.
PCPD said it launched AVA on Monday to improve the way its 911 Communications Center handles non-emergency calls.
Plant City Police AI Dispatcher
What we know:
The agency says AVA, which can communicate in 35 languages, is designed to provide faster service by answering calls immediately, eliminating hold times, and gathering information for routine, non-emergency incidents such as:
- Minor traffic crashes
- Animal-related concerns
- General police questions and non-emergency reports
PCPD says the technology is expected to improve customer service, better serve a multilingual community, and keep dispatchers available for critical emergencies.
AI Safety Monitoring
What we don't know:
Officials have not detailed the specific software thresholds AVA uses to identify an active crime or crisis during a conversation. The department has also not revealed the total financial cost or contract duration for the Aurelian technology.
Emergency Transfer System
Why you should care:
The technology aims to shorten wait times for routine inquiries while freeing up human operators to focus on life-threatening situations. If AVA detects signs of a crime or emergency in progress, the system immediately routes the caller to a live 911 dispatcher. Trained communications personnel will continue to handle all standard 911 emergency calls directly.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the Plant City Police Department, who detailed the operational deployment and emergency protocols of the AVA AI system.