San Diego County Deploys AI to Handle Non-Emergency Calls

Sheriff's office aims to reduce wait times for non-critical calls

Published on Mar. 8, 2026

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

The San Diego County Sheriff's Office has implemented an artificial intelligence system to handle non-emergency calls, freeing up human dispatchers to focus on 911 calls. The AI agent, named Hyper, will greet and process non-critical calls in an effort to improve response times for residents who do not require an immediate law enforcement response.

Why it matters

This move by the San Diego Sheriff's Office is part of a growing trend of law enforcement agencies using AI and automation to handle routine, non-emergency tasks. The goal is to improve efficiency and free up human staff to focus on higher-priority calls, potentially leading to faster response times for critical situations.

The details

All 911 emergency calls will continue to be answered by trained human dispatchers. However, calls to the non-emergency sheriff's office number will now be greeted and processed by the AI agent Hyper. The sheriff's office says Hyper has been carefully trained and tested to handle these non-critical inquiries, allowing human staff to dedicate more time and resources to urgent situations.

  • The new AI system went into effect on March 6, 2026.

The players

San Diego County Sheriff's Office

The law enforcement agency responsible for serving unincorporated areas of San Diego County and providing specialized regional services.

Hyper

The artificial intelligence agent deployed by the San Diego County Sheriff's Office to handle non-emergency calls.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

The takeaway

This move by the San Diego Sheriff's Office demonstrates how law enforcement agencies are leveraging AI and automation to improve efficiency and responsiveness, while still maintaining human oversight for critical emergency situations.