Charleston Co. 911 center implements AI to handle some nonemergency calls

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Charleston County says they are using new technology for their nonemergency phone number to help ease the workload of their call takers and work more efficiently.

Charleston County Consolidated 911 Center Director Jim Lake said calls to the non-emergency number accounts for just under a quarter of their total calls.

Once people call that number now, they will be greeted with Amazon Connect, which is machine learning technology the county said will still get people the help they need while taking stress off their call takers.

Lake said they are spending an estimated over $3,000 per month on the new technology. The online reporting system that’s part of the Connect service went into effect last week.

For example, the technology will ask a caller if an animal is threatening anyone or is in danger. If there’s no immediate danger, Amazon Connect will text the person a link to the online reporting system.

Out of over 240 calls relating to animal incidents in that time, 78 were handled through the online reporting system.

Lake estimates the call volume going to humans will be cut down by around 20%, which could lead to faster call times in an emergency.

“That’s a large number when you start thinking about the number of minutes that are spent on these calls,” Lake said. “Usually with an emergency call, they’re direct and to the point. In an administrative call like this, you’re usually talking about there are more, ‘Well, last week I was there, and this happened, and now, this week, this has occurred,’ and there’s more of a story to it.”

Lake said those with an emergency and dial 911 will still have a human answer their calls, and the change only applies to the non-emergency number.

The county is also advising those who accidentally call 911 to not hang up and instead speak to an operator and tell them that it was mistake.

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