Merseyside Police Launches AI Chatbot to Handle Non-Emergency Calls

Liverpool (GNP): Merseyside Police has introduced an artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant named Bobbi to help manage non-emergency queries from the public, in a move the force says will reduce pressure on its call handling system.

The force said Bobbi is designed for use by the public for non-emergency, policing-related queries, offering guidance and directing users to the appropriate services. Merseyside Police described itself as the first force in the North West to introduce the tool.

Superintendent Tony Fairhurst said the initiative was introduced after the force identified that a significant proportion of its call volume did not require the attention of a policing operator. Fairhurst said, “20% of the calls we get to Merseyside Police don’t need to be dealt with by a policing operator,” adding that Bobbi would handle non-urgent matters and free up officer time as a result.

Fairhurst was clear that the chatbot is not intended to replace emergency response services. He said the tool “doesn’t replace anything” and does not interfere with the 999 emergency process in any way. According to Fairhurst, the force receives around 2,000 calls a day, roughly 20% of which relate to non-urgent matters that can now be directed to the chatbot instead.

The process begins by asking users whether their situation is an emergency; if so, they are instructed to call 999 directly. For non-emergency queries, users are asked to provide their name, email address and phone number before describing their issue to the chatbot, which then processes the information to determine the appropriate response.

Fairhurst also addressed the future of the force’s existing non-emergency phone line, saying 101 would remain in operation alongside the new tool. He said contact resolution officers would continue handling calls to that line, and that the chatbot was intended as an additional option for members of the public who are comfortable using digital services, allowing quicker access to information while keeping resolution officers more readily available for emergency calls.

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On questions of data safety, Fairhurst said information submitted through the chatbot is protected to the same standard as other Merseyside Police systems, and that providing personal details is not mandatory. He added that the chatbot is designed to recognise when a situation escalates and will direct the user to call 999 if necessary.

Addressing the chatbot’s ability to detect signs of distress, Fairhurst said the technology has been trained to interpret how people are feeling, including recognising agitation or distress, and can escalate such cases to a human digital operator when needed. He said the system is also designed to understand messages with incorrect spelling or grammar and can support conversations in languages other than English.

Bobbi has previously been trialled by Thames Valley Police and Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary ahead of its rollout in Merseyside.