Staffordshire Police trials AI agents on its 101 line

Staffordshire Police will trial AI-powered ‘agents’ on its 101 non-emergency service early next year, according to a recent BBC report.

The technology, known as Agentforce, is designed to resolve simple information requests without human intervention, allowing call handlers to focus on more complex or urgent cases. The force said the system aims to improve contact centre performance after past criticism over long wait times.

Senior officers explained that the AI agent will support queries where callers are seeking information rather than reporting crimes. If keywords indicating risk or vulnerability are detected, the system will automatically route the call to a human operator.

Thames Valley Police is already using the technology and has given ‘very positive reports’, according to acting Chief Constable Becky Riggs.

The force’s current average wait for 101 calls is 3.3 minutes, a marked improvement on the previous 7.1-minute average. Abandonment rates have also fallen from 29.2% to 18.7%. However, Commissioner Ben Adams noted that around eight percent of callers still wait over an hour.

UK officers say they have been calling back those affected, both to apologise and to gather ‘significant intelligence’ that has strengthened public confidence in the system.

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