SPOKANE, Wash. – Spokane Regional Emergency Communications (SREC) is preparing to implement an AI-powered tool aimed at improving call sorting on their non-emergency line.
The new system is designed to direct callers to the appropriate resources, ensuring that emergency lines remain open for genuine emergencies.
SREC announced that the AI tool will be capable of understanding both English and Spanish once it launches. The full deployment of the tool is planned by the end of the year.
SREC Deputy Director Kim Arredondo explained that ‘Crime Check’ recieves more than a quarter of a million calls a year.
28% are calls for general information that have to be redirected.
55% are actually emergency calls that are transferred to 911.
“A lot of citizens will call in with questions for those resources specifically that we can’t answer,” Arredondo said. “So the intent is to try to redirect some of those calls out to the appropriate resources.”
The AI system will filter these calls, doling out information quickly.
“We can get them the resources they need and then we’re not waiting on the line,” Arredondo said.
However, some people may feel uneasy about AI answering Crime Check calls. Arrendondo acknowledged this concern.
“There are some people that don’t like AI in itself,” Arredondo said. “And so we’re hoping that we can get past that part of it. We want to have a good user experience for all of our citizens when they call in and receive this service.”
SREC says the system is highly accurate, with a transcription accuracy of about 90%.
“If there is any sort of variation that the AI doesn’t understand, it transfers it to an operator,” Arrendondo said.
Spokane County would join a list of several call centers in Washington and hundreds nationwide to use an AI system.
“There’s about 15 different 911 centers already utilizing it,” Arrendondo said.
