Tracy Police Launch Automated Non-Emergency Triage

The system screens non-emergency calls so dispatchers can stay focused on 911 emergencies.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Law Enforcement

Tracy Police Launch Automated Non-Emergency Triage

Live Poll

Do you trust automated phone systems to handle your local government's non-emergency calls?

The Tracy Police Department has launched an Automated Non-Emergency Triage system for non-emergency calls. Callers answer automated questions, and the system directs them to appropriate resources without using dispatcher time.

Why it matters

The department received over 113,000 calls last year, including 85,000 non-emergency calls, which can strain dispatch resources. Keeping dispatchers available for 911 emergency calls is the stated goal of the new system.

The system handled 85,000 non-emergency calls out of 113,000 total calls received last year, at an annual program cost of a little over $42,000. Community members have voiced some skepticism, and how effectively the system performs in practice has not yet been reported.

The players

Tracy Police Department

The local law enforcement agency serving Tracy that introduced the automated triage system for its non-emergency line.

Axon

A public safety technology company that provides the system under a five-year contract with the department.

The details

Callers reaching the non-emergency line answer a series of automated questions to identify their issue and are routed to the appropriate resources. The system offers multilingual support in Spanish, French, Hindi and Portuguese, and the program is provided under a five-year contract with Axon.

Last year: the department received 113,000 calls, 85,000 of them non-emergency.
November 6, 2026: the Automated Non-Emergency Triage system launched.

Legal Context

Police departments increasingly use automated triage and interactive voice response tools on non-emergency lines to manage call volume. Tracy's program adds a multilingual automated screening step ahead of human dispatch for non-emergency calls.

Residents calling the non-emergency line will first answer automated questions and be directed to the appropriate resource without waiting for a dispatcher. The system is designed to keep dispatchers free for 911 emergency calls, which may affect how quickly non-emergency concerns like abandoned vehicles or downed trees are addressed.

The takeaway

Residents with non-emergency concerns can expect an automated screening step before reaching a person, while 911 calls continue to reach dispatchers directly. Tracking how the system performs over time will show whether it reduces strain on emergency dispatch.