{"slug": "artificial-intelligence-to-stop-nuisance-101-police-calls-about-late-pizza", "title": "Artificial intelligence to stop nuisance 101 police calls about late pizza delivery", "summary": "The UK Home Office will deploy artificial intelligence software to filter nuisance and misdirected calls to the police 101 non-emergency line, which receives about 20 million calls annually, with around 20 percent meant for other organizations. The AI will match call reasons to likely options and redirect non-police issues to the correct agency, potentially saving policing up to £8.5 million per year. Crime and policing minister Sarah Jones said the technology will free up time and help bring control rooms into the 21st century.", "body_md": "# Artificial intelligence to stop nuisance 101 police calls about late pizza delivery\n\nThe non-emergency line receives ridiculous reports on issues from delayed pizza delivery to requests for a lift\n\n- Bookmark\n\n[Artificial intelligence](/topic/artificial-intelligence) software is set to be deployed to help clear the police 101 service [by filtering out misdirected and nuisance calls.](/news/uk/crime/police-101-non-emergency-number-suspend-budget-cuts-emergency-calls-a8627801.html)\n\nAccording to the [Home Office](/topic/home-office), the non-emergency line receives ridiculous reports regarding issues from delayed pizza delivery to requests for a lift. Around 20 per cent of its 20 million annual calls are meant for non-policing organisations such as local councils.\n\nThe new system will use [AI](/topic/ai) to match the reason for a call to a set of likely options, automatically redirecting non-police issues to the correct agency before the caller enters a queue.\n\nMinisters hope the initiative will save policing up to £8.5 million each year.\n\nThe Home Office stated that robust safeguards are in place to ensure no-one in need of police help is accidentally diverted.\n\nExamples of unnecessary calls made to 101 include:\n\n- A caller wanting\n[Humberside Police](/topic/humberside-police)to pick them up because they needed a lift. - Someone wanting to talk to the Metropolitan Police about changing electricity provider.\n- A person seeking advice from Greater Manchester Police on whether a pension pot is tax-free from age 55.\n- People looking to report a lost umbrella to Nottinghamshire Police.\n- A caller reporting that their pizza was taking longer to be delivered than expected.\n- A person complaining about slow service at a pub.\n\nCrime and policing minister Sarah Jones said: “Police call handlers are wasting hours fielding calls meant for other organisations. Every minute spent on these calls is time taken away from helping people who genuinely need their support.\n\n“AI is already helping police catch dangerous criminals and speed up investigations. Now, it will help bring control rooms into the 21st century, freeing up time and unlocking millions of pounds.\n\n“Forces can reinvest those savings into tackling the crime on our streets.”", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/artificial-intelligence-to-stop-nuisance-101-police-calls-about-late-pizza", "canonical_source": "https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/police-101-ai-nuisance-calls-b3034871.html", "published_at": "2026-08-18 11:35:59+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-18 11:43:06.684918+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["Home Office", "Sarah Jones", "Humberside Police", "Metropolitan Police", "Greater Manchester Police", "Nottinghamshire Police"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/artificial-intelligence-to-stop-nuisance-101-police-calls-about-late-pizza", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/artificial-intelligence-to-stop-nuisance-101-police-calls-about-late-pizza.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/artificial-intelligence-to-stop-nuisance-101-police-calls-about-late-pizza.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/artificial-intelligence-to-stop-nuisance-101-police-calls-about-late-pizza.jsonld"}}