Cumbria Police Harness AI To Cut 101 Waiting Times
Cumbria Police has introduced a new AI powered call routing system designed to reduce waiting times for people contacting the force through the non emergency 101 service.
The technology was introduced on Tuesday, August 18, and is designed to identify calls that are intended for other organisations before callers enter the police queue. This is expected to reduce pressure on call handlers and allow officers and staff to focus on matters that require police assistance.
Between April 2025 and March 2026, Cumbria Police received 118,870 calls through the 101 service, equivalent to an average of around 325 calls each day. Nationally, around 20 million calls are made to 101 every year.
Around 20 per cent of 101 calls are estimated to concern matters that should be handled by other organisations, such as local councils, the NHS or services dealing with power outages.
The new system analyses the reason for a caller's enquiry and matches it against a range of possible services. If the issue is not a policing matter, the caller can be directed to the organisation best placed to provide assistance without first having to wait for a police call handler.
The technology was developed through a national collaboration involving the Home Office, the National Police Chiefs' Council and Vodafone, with £1.4 million of government investment supporting its development. It has also undergone testing across 15 police forces.
During pilot schemes, the system successfully redirected enquiries involving issues such as fly tipping, noise complaints and damage only road traffic incidents to the relevant agencies.
Cumbria Police has stressed that safeguards have been built into the system to prevent people requiring police assistance from being incorrectly redirected. Callers will be told how the system has interpreted their reason for calling and will have the opportunity to confirm or reject that assessment.
Additional safeguarding questions can also be asked where necessary. If the system is uncertain about the nature of a call, it will transfer the caller directly to the police.
The introduction of the technology forms part of wider efforts to modernise policing services and improve the way public enquiries are handled. Police hope that reducing unnecessary calls reaching their contact centre will allow staff to respond more quickly to people who genuinely need police support.
The change could also help reduce pressure on emergency services by ensuring that police resources are concentrated on incidents and enquiries requiring their involvement.
Cumbria's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner David Allen said the 101 service had been one of the most frequent concerns raised with him over recent years. He welcomed the introduction of the new system and said it could provide a more direct route for callers while reducing pressure on police call handlers.
The effectiveness of the system will now be monitored as it becomes part of Cumbria's regular 101 service. Police hope the technology will lead to shorter waiting times and a more efficient service for residents across the county.
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