The initiative is backed by £1.4 million of government investment and the technology is designed to identify the reason for a caller’s contact with 101 and direct non-police matters to the appropriate organisation before the caller joins a queue. At present, many of these calls are only identified once they reach a call handler, leading to unnecessary delays for both the caller and the police.

The 101 line receives 20 million calls a year but around 20 per cent are misdirected and should have gone to other organisations including local councils and NHS 111. The service also faces thousands of prank calls from complaints about slow pub service and delayed pizza deliveries, to requests for a lift which waste vital police time.

The new system, developed by the Home Office and the National Police Chiefs’ Council will help forces respond more quickly to reports of crime. It is estimated to save up to £8.5 million annually and free resources for frontline priorities.

Crime 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.

“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. Forces can reinvest those savings into tackling the crime on our streets.”

Developers have stated that the system has been trained to recognise a wide range of accents and ways of speaking to reduce the risk of callers being improperly categorised.

There are also safeguards in that a caller will be asked whether they confirm or reject the assessment of their call and there is also an option to request to speak directly to a call handler.

The 999 emergency service is unchanged.