911 dispatchers and call operators in Thunder Bay are now using a new tool to prepare recruits for the job.

The Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) is touting a new AI-powered system that can mimic real emergency calls accurately enough to give new trainees, as well as those considering the job, a chance to experience what it feels like to take 911 calls in a low-stakes situation.

Thunder Bay’s police service is the first in Canada to implement the program.

The AI program can be customized to reference local geography, street names, and even businesses.

The trainee who answers the AI’s mock call is evaluated by the program, which considers factors such as whether the dispatcher-in-training is asking the right questions — the evaluation, too, can be customized.

Communications operator Erin Hartviksen describes the system as “the closest you can get to actually answering a 911 call,” without actually answering the real phone lines.

“We can change the scenarios and create challenges for the call,” she explains. “You might have somebody impaired by alcohol or drugs. They might be combative, distracted… There could be a lot of background noise.”

Hartviksen says the AI program has already helped new trainees prepare for the job.

“This last round of classroom training, we had new hires saying ‘I’m ready to take a call’ on day one… I’d never really seen that before with any new hires,” she remarks.

She adds that the software is now brought to recruiting events, which gives those considering a job in 911 dispatching the chance to see what it feels like to take a call.

“It makes people say like, ‘whoa, maybe it’s not as bad as I thought,’ or ‘it’s more interesting than I thought,’” says communications operator Sam Fehr, who works with Hartviksen.

Answering the call

Beyond the new AI training tool, Thunder Bay’s 911 services have also recently incorporated a new system which allows those who dial 911 to receive updates by text.

After making a 911 call, updates on the status of emergency responders and instructions on what to do next can now be relayed through texts, which allows operators to focus on priority calls.

Being able to focus on priority calls is important, as 911 operators regularly take calls that are not really emergencies.

Operator Fehr says they once encountered a situation where “someone called because their dishwasher wasn’t working. They called the police for that.”

Last week was National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, which the TBPS recognized to honour the work of its 911 operators and dispatchers.

Answering 911 calls can be difficult and stressful, but Hartviksen says she feels an immense sense of purpose in her job.

“We’re that first point of contact for the public calling in, and we have the ability to send them the resources they need,” she says, adding that “you end the shift with an immense sense of accomplishment knowing that you’ve made a difference in somebody’s life.”

Sam Fehr has worked as a call operator for 22 years.

She says “you’ve basically heard everything at that point, so you’re able to get the right resources.”

Fehr feels that being an operator has had both positive and negative effects on her psyche. “It can make you a little jaded, and a little bitter at times as well, but you try not to focus on that part of it. You’re just, essentially, there to help people… And that’s why I’ve done it for so long, because at the end of the day, I like to help people.”