AI Assistant 'Callie' Helps Calhoun County Dispatch Handle Non-Emergency Calls Faster

Calhoun County is embracing artificial intelligence to improve emergency services. The Calhoun County Consolidated Dispatch Authority has implemented a virtual assistant named Callie to handle non-emergency calls, freeing up telecommunicators to focus on critical 911 emergencies.

The New System

Developed by Aurelian, Callie has been deployed to serve more than 133,000 residents across Calhoun County. The AI assistant handles routine non-emergency administrative requests, allowing human dispatchers to prioritize life-threatening situations.

Why This Matters

In 2025, the dispatch center handled 180,324 inbound calls. Nearly half of these were non-emergency administrative requests. With only 25 telecommunicators and six supervisors responsible for answering both emergency and non-emergency calls, the workload was significant.

By offloading non-emergency calls to Callie, the system ensures that when someone calls 911, a trained telecommunicator is available to answer immediately.

How Callie Helps

The virtual assistant can handle common non-emergency requests such as:

• General information inquiries
• Administrative questions
• Non-urgent service requests
• Routine call routing

This allows the human dispatch team to focus on what they do best: handling emergencies, calming callers in crisis, and coordinating rapid response from police, fire, and EMS teams.

Local Impact for Battle Creek Area

For residents of Battle Creek and surrounding communities, this means:

• Faster response times for true emergencies
• Reduced wait times for non-emergency assistance
• More efficient use of limited dispatch resources
• Improved service for all 133,000+ county residents

The Technology Behind Callie

Aurelian's AI system represents the next generation of public safety technology. By combining natural language processing with specialized training for dispatch scenarios, Callie can understand caller needs and provide appropriate assistance or routing without human intervention for routine matters.

This type of innovation helps smaller dispatch centers like Calhoun County's compete with the service levels of much larger metropolitan areas.

Looking Ahead

As AI technology continues to improve, systems like Callie may expand their capabilities while always maintaining the critical human touch for emergencies. Calhoun County's early adoption positions the region as a leader in public safety innovation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is Callie and what does it do?
A: Callie is an AI virtual assistant developed by Aurelian that handles non-emergency calls for the Calhoun County Consolidated Dispatch Authority, allowing human telecommunicators to focus on 911 emergencies.

Q: How many calls does the Calhoun County dispatch center handle?
A: In 2025, the dispatch center handled 180,324 inbound calls, with nearly half being non-emergency administrative requests.

Q: Who developed the Callie AI system?
A: Callie was developed by Aurelian, a company specializing in AI solutions for public safety and dispatch operations.