Police launch AI Bobbi chatbot to cut down on non-emergency calls

A North West police force has launched a new "AI-powered virtual police assistant" on its website in a bid to cut down on non-emergency calls.

Merseyside Police has introduced Bobbi, a chatbot the force said is to be used by the public for non-emergency police-related queries.

The virtual assistant can give guidance and connect users to the right services, the force said.

"We are the first force in the North West to roll this out," Supt Tony Fairhurst told BBC Radio Merseyside . "20% of the calls we get to Merseyside Police don't need to be dealt with by a policing operator. AI Bobbi will deal with non-urgent matters - and therefore free up the time for officers."

Supt Fairhurst explained that AI Bobbi is not a replacement for genuine emergency 999 calls - but an alternative for non-emergency scenarios.

"It doesn't replace anything," Fairhurst said of the new tool.

"When anyone rings 999, it doesn't interfere with the emergency process.

"But we get around 2,000 calls a day to Merseyside Police and we know that 20% of these calls don't need a policing operator to deal with them.

"But now someone can go on the website, interact with the chatbot and it will deal with non-urgent matters."

Fairhurst said the process asks the user if their scenario is an emergency - if so, the user is told to call 999.

If not, the user is directed to inputting their name, email address and phone number before describing the problem to the chatbot.

"Then we can deal with it automatically through the chatbot in order to get the right information and the right response to that member of the public," Fairhurst explained.

He maintained the system would not replace existing services like 101 - but would be an additional feature for those comfortable using it.

"101 is not going away," he said. "We're still here and we still have contact resolution officers dealing with those calls every single day.

"This provides an additional service to the public where those that are comfortable using that digital service can get information quicker, faster and also makes sure our contact resolution officers are available for when someone needs to ring 999 that they can be answered immediately."

Asked whether the system poses risks, Fairhurst said the data put into the chatbot is "as safe as any other of our police systems".

He also said inputting information is not mandatory and the chatbot itself will "recognise if a situation escalates" and "ask the person to ring 999."

Similarly, when asked about the bot's ability to recognise signs of mental health distress, Fairhurst said the technology is "trained to understand and interpret how people are feeling".

"It can detect if someone's getting agitated, someone's distressed and it uses all that information then to escalate - where necessary - to a digital operator who can then have that interaction," he said.

He also said the bot will be trained to understand incorrect spelling and grammar - as well as allowing conversations in different languages as well as English.

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