The UK government has announced the introduction of AI to be used on the police’s non-emergency line to cut waiting times and reduce pressure on call handlers to ensure the public reach the right department quicker.

The initiative is backed by £1.4 million of government investment to use the new AI call-routing system to automatically identify why someone is calling 101 and redirect issues to the correct agency before the caller enters a queue.

The 101 line receives 20 million calls a year but around 20 per cent are misdirected and should have gone to other organisations including local councils and NHS 111. The service also faces thousands of prank calls from complaints about slow pub service to requests for a lift which wastes vital police time.

The new system, developed by the Home Office will help forces respond more quickly to crime reports to safeguard concerns and victim who need urgent support. It is estimated to save pole up to £8.5 million annually and free resources for frontline priorities.

John Lucey, VP EMEA at Cellebrite, said: “AI powered systems are accelerating police and law enforcement processes and empowering them to keep pace with crime in this digital landscape, acting as an assistant while human expertise remains at the forefront.

“AI can quickly generate contextual summaries from callers and direct calls to the right handler to act more consistently and crack down on even the most difficult crimes. The key is to always maintain a human-in-the-loop approach with clear audit trails and oversight that gives investigators control of what evidence is brought forward.”