Florida sheriff’s office deploys AI assistant for nonemergency calls

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office in Florida has deployed an AI assistant named Ava to handle nonemergency calls, marking the first implementation of this technology by a sheriff’s department in the state. Since going live in August, Ava has enabled the department to reallocate human dispatchers to emergency services while reducing overtime costs and improving work-life balance for staff.

How it works: Ava serves as the first point of contact for the department’s nonemergency line, using artificial intelligence to assess and resolve routine calls.

• When residents call the nonemergency number, they hear “My name is Ava. How can I help you today?” before being assisted by the AI system.
• The AI handles calls about “cats in the tree, loud music, disabled auto, pothole… all the stuff that comes into the nonemergency number,” according to Sheriff Mike Chitwood.
• If Ava detects an emergency situation, calls are immediately transferred to live 911 dispatchers.

The big picture: Ava’s deployment has allowed the sheriff’s office to optimize staffing and reduce operational strain on human dispatchers.

• The department has moved dispatchers from nonemergency duties to emergency response, where they’re needed most.
• Only one person now supervises the calls Ava handles, compared to several people previously needed for nonemergency responses.
• Overtime has been reduced because dispatchers are no longer frequently mandated to work on their days off.

Why this matters: The AI assistant demonstrates how law enforcement agencies can leverage technology to improve both operational efficiency and employee wellbeing.

• Dispatchers now get more time off, which Chitwood says is “good for their mental health.”
• The technology frees up human resources for critical emergency situations while maintaining service quality for routine matters.

What’s impressive: Ava has shown sophisticated capability in detecting subtle emergency indicators that might be missed in routine calls.

• In one case, a caller reported “a minor accident, nobody’s hurt, but then said, ‘I’m really having chest pains.'”
• “She picked it up and said, ‘Hold on, I’m transferring you to 911,'” Chitwood explained, demonstrating the AI’s ability to recognize medical emergencies embedded in seemingly routine calls.

What they’re saying: Sheriff Chitwood emphasized the operational benefits of the AI implementation.

• “I’ve been able to move dispatchers from the nonemergency side of the house to the emergency side of the house,” he said.
• “One of the issues of hiring and retaining people in this room is that they were often mandated to work on their days off by shifting them over into the 911 side. So people are actually getting more time off, which is good for their mental health.”