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by Ava Ray|NewsChannel3
CALHOUN COUNTY, Mich. — Some non-emergency callers in Calhoun County may now be greeted by artificial intelligence instead of a dispatcher.
The Calhoun County Consolidated Dispatch Authority (CCCDA) recently launched an AI assistant named “Callie” to help handle routine non-emergency calls while telecommunicators focus on 911 emergencies.
Executive Director Michael Armitage said the system was introduced just weeks ago after months of training and testing behind the scenes.
“If you call 911, you’re still getting a person,” Armitage said. “But for non-emergency calls, she came into our center about two or three weeks ago.”
Callie is trained to handle complaints and requests that are not considered active emergencies, including barking dogs, noise complaints and requests to contact an officer.
Armitage said the system can also recognize when a situation becomes more serious during a call.
“If through any part of that call those parameters are hit where it’s detected that there is an emergency, then Callie will transfer to a live dispatcher,” he said.
Dispatch leaders say the goal is to help relieve pressure inside the dispatch center, where emergency and non-emergency calls are often handled by the same staff.
“Dispatchers have to put 911 calls on hold to answer non-emergency calls because that phone’s ringing,” Armitage said.
According to the dispatch authority, the center handled more than 180,000 inbound calls in 2025, with nearly half classified as non-emergency administrative requests.
Armitage said the system is not intended to replace dispatchers, and that staffing levels are not being reduced because of the new technology.
“We’re not reducing staffing because of this,” he said.
The dispatch center says every call still receives human oversight before information is entered into the dispatch system. Leaders also say the AI assistant will continue learning as staff review calls and provide feedback over the coming months.
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