The Lethbridge Police Service is automating its non-emergency complaint phone line. The service says the change will help free up dispatcher time to focus on emergency calls.
The change will start on June 20 and will affect both the LPS non-emergency line and the Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services line. Callers will be met with an interactive voice response and will be directed to immediately hang up and call 911 if they are reporting an emergency, otherwise they will select from a series of options to be directed to the proper department.
“The goal of IVR is to facilitate the most common call types, reducing the need for dispatcher intervention. When calling the police complaints line, callers will be automatically transferred based on the reason for their call,” reads a news release from LPS.
The automated menu will include options to report a crime, provide an update to an incident in progress and speak to the investigating officer of an existing file. The system will also connect callers to services such as criminal record checks, collision reporting, parking complaints. The system will also be able to transfer callers to dispatchers.
In 2022, dispatches answered 33,912 calls on the non-emergency complaint line, according to LPS.