Why your 101 call in Devon and Cornwall might not reach police

Pick up the phone to 101 in Devon or Cornwall now, and the first voice you hear won’t be a call handler. It’ll be a system asking why you’re ringing, in your own words, before deciding where your call actually needs to go.

Devon & Cornwall Police has begun using an AI-assisted system to help manage the volume of calls hitting its contact centre, aiming to get people to the right service faster and free up police time for the calls that genuinely need it.

How the new system works

Callers to 101 are now invited to briefly explain, in their own words, why they’re calling. The system checks it has understood correctly, then either points the caller towards the organisation best placed to help, or passes them straight into the existing police call-handling process if it’s a policing matter.

Where the issue turns out not to need police involvement, callers are given information about the right organisation instead, with the option of a relevant link sent by text message. If it is something Devon & Cornwall Police needs to deal with, the call carries on through as normal.

It works differently to the old-style phone menu, where callers punch a number on the keypad to pick from a list of options. This system is built to understand natural language rather than fixed choices, which the force says makes for a more intuitive call, even if it adds a few seconds at the start.

The numbers behind the change

The scale of what the contact centre handles is considerable. More than 470,000 calls came into the 101 system during 2025, and pressure on the emergency line is climbing too. On a single day this June, the force took 1,305 calls to 999.

Of all those calls, only around 23 per cent ended up needing an emergency or priority police response. Many callers are genuinely looking for help or advice, just not the kind that requires an officer, and thousands of enquiries are already redirected or resolved through existing processes before they ever reach a contact centre adviser.

Devon and Cornwall isn’t unusual here. Nationally, roughly 20 million calls a year go to 101, and an estimated four million of those concern matters better handled by someone else entirely, such as a local authority, a health service or a utility provider.

Built-in safeguards

The system isn’t designed to filter people out without a proper check. Callers are asked to confirm the reason for their call, and if there’s any doubt, or any sign that police support is actually needed, the call is passed straight through rather than diverted.

Why it matters here

Devon and Cornwall carries a particular seasonal pressure that much of the country doesn’t. Spring and summer bring millions of visitors on top of the people who live and work here year-round, and that surge lands squarely on the same contact centre and control room teams who handle everything from the mundane to the most difficult moments in someone’s life.

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has described the change as one worth welcoming, not because it solves the pressures facing policing on its own, but because freeing up contact centre staff from matters outside their remit means more time for victims, safeguarding and the incidents that need an urgent response. Whether callers notice the extra few seconds at the start of the call, or simply find themselves redirected somewhere more useful, may be the real test of whether it’s working.

📷Credit: Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly