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AI Call-Taker Ava Aims to Relieve Los Angeles Overburdened 911 System
A Florida‑based public‑safety technology firm, Aurelian, has introduced an AI‑powered call‑taker called Ava that is designed to handle non‑emergency calls for 911 centers. The system is being promoted as a way to free dispatchers in Los Angeles, where the emergency response network has struggled with staffing shortages and slow call‑answering times.
Los Angeles’ 911 system has been operating below capacity for several years. A March report to the City Council found that the Los Angeles Police Department answered only 57.43 % of 911 calls within the California standard of 15 seconds in 2024, far below the state’s requirement that 90 % of emergency calls be answered within that window. Staffing has been a persistent problem: the city hired 144 dispatcher trainees in 2024 but only 56 in 2025, while losing 75 operators in the same period. City officials say that about 100 operators must be on duty around the clock just to meet minimum staffing requirements.
According to Aurelian’s CEO, Max Keenan, roughly 70 % of calls that reach a public‑safety answering point (PSAP) are not emergencies. These include barking‑dog complaints, parking disputes, lost‑property reports, and other routine matters. “We built Ava to handle the 10‑digit non‑emergency lines that police departments and other PSAPs operate,” Keenan said. The system answers these calls instantly, records the information, and routes the call to the appropriate agency.
Aurelian claims that Ava automates about 74 % of non‑emergency calls, giving dispatchers roughly three hours of their workday back. The AI also monitors for signs of an emergency; if a caller describes a dangerous situation—such as a person lying on railroad tracks—the system escalates the call to a dispatcher immediately. Keenan noted that about 5 % of calls on the non‑emergency line are emergencies.
The company says it can deploy the system quickly. “We often go live with a customer in less than ten weeks from contract signing,” Keenan said. “On day one, we’re automating 60 % of their calls.” Aurelian serves more than 50 public‑safety agencies and processes hundreds of thousands of calls each month.
The Los Angeles system is not the only one facing overload. Across the country, emergency dispatch centers report staffing shortages as non‑emergency calls compete for attention. Aurelian’s solution is part of a broader trend of using AI to triage and route calls, a practice that has been adopted by other jurisdictions, such as the Willamette Valley Communications Center in Oregon.
The technology does not replace human dispatchers; it is intended to reduce their workload so they can focus on true emergencies. Aurelian’s CEO emphasized that the system never answers 911 calls directly. “We only take calls that are dialed into the 10‑digit non‑emergency line,” he said.
The Los Angeles Police Department has not yet announced whether it will adopt Ava. If it does, the system could help the city meet its 15‑second answering standard and reduce the strain on dispatchers. However, the city’s long‑standing staffing issues—recruitment, retention, and training—remain a core challenge that technology alone cannot solve.
In the coming months, several PSAPs are expected to pilot or deploy AI call‑takers. The effectiveness of these systems will be measured by the percentage of non‑emergency calls handled, the time saved for dispatchers, and any impact on emergency response times. Unresolved questions include how the technology handles ambiguous or rapidly evolving situations, how it integrates with existing dispatch software, and what safeguards are in place to prevent misclassification of emergencies.
Overall, the introduction of Ava represents a concrete attempt to address chronic dispatcher shortages and slow response times in Los Angeles and other cities. Whether the system can deliver the promised relief will depend on its deployment, integration, and the ongoing ability of public‑safety agencies to maintain adequate staffing levels.
Los Angeles’ 911 system has been operating below capacity for several years. A March report to the City Council found that the Los Angeles Police Department answered only 57.43 % of 911 calls within the California standard of 15 seconds in 2024, far below the state’s requirement that 90 % of emergency calls be answered within that window. Staffing has been a persistent problem: the city hired 144 dispatcher trainees in 2024 but only 56 in 2025, while losing 75 operators in the same period. City officials say that about 100 operators must be on duty around the clock just to meet minimum staffing requirements.
According to Aurelian’s CEO, Max Keenan, roughly 70 % of calls that reach a public‑safety answering point (PSAP) are not emergencies. These include barking‑dog complaints, parking disputes, lost‑property reports, and other routine matters. “We built Ava to handle the 10‑digit non‑emergency lines that police departments and other PSAPs operate,” Keenan said. The system answers these calls instantly, records the information, and routes the call to the appropriate agency.
Aurelian claims that Ava automates about 74 % of non‑emergency calls, giving dispatchers roughly three hours of their workday back. The AI also monitors for signs of an emergency; if a caller describes a dangerous situation—such as a person lying on railroad tracks—the system escalates the call to a dispatcher immediately. Keenan noted that about 5 % of calls on the non‑emergency line are emergencies.
The company says it can deploy the system quickly. “We often go live with a customer in less than ten weeks from contract signing,” Keenan said. “On day one, we’re automating 60 % of their calls.” Aurelian serves more than 50 public‑safety agencies and processes hundreds of thousands of calls each month.
The Los Angeles system is not the only one facing overload. Across the country, emergency dispatch centers report staffing shortages as non‑emergency calls compete for attention. Aurelian’s solution is part of a broader trend of using AI to triage and route calls, a practice that has been adopted by other jurisdictions, such as the Willamette Valley Communications Center in Oregon.
The technology does not replace human dispatchers; it is intended to reduce their workload so they can focus on true emergencies. Aurelian’s CEO emphasized that the system never answers 911 calls directly. “We only take calls that are dialed into the 10‑digit non‑emergency line,” he said.
The Los Angeles Police Department has not yet announced whether it will adopt Ava. If it does, the system could help the city meet its 15‑second answering standard and reduce the strain on dispatchers. However, the city’s long‑standing staffing issues—recruitment, retention, and training—remain a core challenge that technology alone cannot solve.
In the coming months, several PSAPs are expected to pilot or deploy AI call‑takers. The effectiveness of these systems will be measured by the percentage of non‑emergency calls handled, the time saved for dispatchers, and any impact on emergency response times. Unresolved questions include how the technology handles ambiguous or rapidly evolving situations, how it integrates with existing dispatch software, and what safeguards are in place to prevent misclassification of emergencies.
Overall, the introduction of Ava represents a concrete attempt to address chronic dispatcher shortages and slow response times in Los Angeles and other cities. Whether the system can deliver the promised relief will depend on its deployment, integration, and the ongoing ability of public‑safety agencies to maintain adequate staffing levels.
