AI to Help Resolve Non-Emergency Calls Across Utah and Decrease 911 Caller Wait Times

The Utah Communications Authority (UCA), which oversees the state’s next generation 911 technology services, recently announced that public safety answering points (PSAPs) throughout the state plan to implement Motorola Solutions’ Virtual Response technology to automate the receipt and resolution of 10-digit non-emergency line calls in Utah with the help of AI.

“An estimated 65% of Utah's 911 PSAPs' workloads are non-emergency line calls, like noise or parking complaints, that aren’t a true crisis,” said Tina Mathieu, executive director of UCA. “When a 911 call comes in, they have to put the non-emergency caller on hold, taking precious seconds away from responding to the real emergency. Now, every PSAP in Utah can use Motorola Solutions’ Virtual Response to focus call handlers’ time, while decreasing wait times for 911 callers in the midst of true crises.”

The AI technology allows callers to ask questions and receive answers in their native language and can respond to queries via voice or text, such as sharing the contact information for animal services if a caller reports a lost dog. PSAPs can also add an upfront automated message for non-emergency line callers in the same location, sharing for example that there’s a planned brush fire between specific highway exits.

“There are some calls where the caller just wants a quick answer - it’s not a complex emergency requiring a multi-pronged response,” said Kevin Rose, executive director of the Weber Area Dispatch 911 & Emergency Services District, a PSAP in Utah. “AI can help take stress off our call handlers and free them to focus on the calls that really need their human empathy and expertise.”

The UCA is funding this statewide deployment, making Virtual Response accessible to all PSAPs in the state. These PSAPs can also deploy Assist for 911 and Radius Mapping, additional Motorola Solutions technologies available statewide that complement VESTA 9-1-1 call-handling software with enhanced AI and mapping features. Last year, the 27 PSAPs throughout Utah processed nearly 900,000 911 calls and over 2 million non-emergency line calls.

Featured

New Products

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols.

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.