On Tuesday, the Antioch City Council is being asked to authorize a contract for an AI Assistive Call Taking System for Antioch Police Dispatch.
- Monday UPDATE — per Antioch Police Chief Joe Vigil, he confirmed while this is a sole source contract and justification was included in the staff report, when asked if they looked into or observed other companies or had received another quote, he replied “no”.
The Antioch Police Department is seeking $248,400 for a 2-year contract with Axon (the item is buried as Item J in the consent calendar). If approved:
- Year 1: $126,400. Funding for Year 1 has been set aside within the existing General Fund Police Department budget.
- Year 2: $122,000. Funding for Year 2 will be accommodated within the Police Department’s budget through the annual budget development process.
According to the staff report, the dispatch center is currently operating with 24% vacancy rate – of the 17 positions, 4 are vacant. The vacancy rate has also been consistent over the past several years. This means, dispatch center on any given day typically only has two to three dispatchers on duty at a given time.
The Police Dispatch Center handled approximately 72,000 9-1-1 calls in both 2024 and 2025. Non-emergency call activity remained steady as well, at approximately 208,000 calls annually. In addition to phone call volume, the Police Department handled 86,185 calls for service incidents in 2025, including AQCRT calls, which require ongoing dispatch coordination beyond the initial intake.
The police department says it seeking a tool that is practical, field-tested tool that can reduce routine workload, shorten non-emergency wait times, reduce administrative burden, and preserve dispatcher capacity for urgent, high-risk events and field coordination.
According to the staff report, assistive call taking technology is increasingly the direction public safety communications centers are moving as a service-delivery and risk-management measure—helping manage sustained staffing constraints, reduce non-emergency backlogs and abandoned calls, improve documentation for evidentiary and legal requests, and strengthen language access during time-critical emergencies.
Several major cities in California are already implementing the Prepared platform, including:
- Los Angeles Police Department
- Richmond Police Department
- Stockton Police Department
- San Diego Police Department
- Tracy Police Department
- Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.
Police also say the call taking platform is intended to support dispatchers, not replace them, by handling routine steps and generating usable call artifacts that staff currently create manually.
Per the staff report, the primary benefits are outlined below
Improve Service for Non-Emergency Callers and Reduce Hold Times:
When 9-1-1 emergencies occur, Dispatchers must prioritize those calls and the associated radio coordination and field response. As a result, non-emergency callers often experience extended hold times, repeat calls, or may abandon the call altogether. This is frustrating for residents and it reduces the Department’s ability to capture timely, accurate information on issues that still require attention.
Prepared’s non-emergency call handling is intended to provide residents with immediate engagement instead of a prolonged hold. The system can gather essential details right away, confirm contact information, and document the issue in a structured format. Those calls can then be organized into a queue for Dispatcher review and follow-up as soon as operational conditions allow. This approach improves customer service, reduces abandoned calls, and allows Dispatchers to address non-emergency requests more efficiently once 9-1-1 activity stabilizes—without compromising emergency response priorities.
The Department visited agencies using Prepared to understand real-world impacts. During staff’s site visits, staff inquired directly about satisfaction with the system from both the agency and public perspective. Both agencies advised that satisfaction has been very high.
During staff’s site visit, Galt Police Department reported an approximate 50 percent reduction in non-emergency call volume after implementing Prepared. The Chief of the Galt Police Department also advised that since implementation, the agency had received only one complaint from a member of the public, and that complaint stemmed from a misunderstanding rather than a system failure.
Staff also visited El Paso Police Department in Texas. El Paso reported a similar reduction, generally between 30 and 50 percent, allowing Dispatchers to focus more consistently on 9-1-1 operations and emergency coordination. El Paso also advised that less than 10 percent of callers bypass the system to speak directly to an operator, indicating the system is understandable and reliable for the vast majority of callers, while still allowing access to a dispatcher when needed.
2 Support Emergency Calls Through “Co-Pilot” Functionality
In addition to non-emergency triage, Prepared can function as a co-pilot during emergency calls. Major incidents—such as injury vehicle collisions, shootings, robberies, or similar events—often generate a rapid surge of multiple 9-1-1 calls reporting the same incident. When only two to three dispatchers are on duty, that sudden volume can quickly overwhelm call taking capacity while Dispatchers are simultaneously coordinating field response and managing radio traffic. Prepared’s co-pilot functionally helps by capturing and summarizing key details from incoming calls in real time so critical information can be relayed quickly and consistently to supervisors and field personnel during fast-moving incidents.
While a Dispatcher is conducting intake on a 9-1-1 call, Prepared can operate in the background to capture and summarize key details in real time.
This capability is particularly valuable during major incidents where seconds matter and information must be conveyed quickly and accurately. The practical benefit is improved speed and consistency in relaying critical information to officers and supervisors, supporting faster decision-making and safer field response.
3. Improve Documentation and Reduce Staff Time Spent on Records Requests
Dispatch staff spend a significant amount of time locating call recordings, replaying audio, summarizing events, and preparing materials for evidentiary and legal requests, including requests from the District Attorney, Public Defender, and civil litigation matters. Prepared generates call recordings and transcripts and supports searchable documentation to reduce the manual workload involved in producing and validating these materials. This reduces staff time spent on administrative tasks and helps keep personnel focused on core dispatch operations.
4. Strengthen Service Quality Through Quality Assurance (QA)
Quality Assurance in a dispatch environment is the structured review of calls to confirm that required protocols are being followed, critical questions are asked, accurate information is captured, and calls are documented consistently. QA supports training and coaching, identifies process gaps, reduces liability exposure by catching issues early, and provides a basis for recognizing strong performance.
Traditional QA can be time intensive because it requires pulling CAD reports, locating recordings, and manually grading calls against protocols. Prepared’s automated QA tools are intended to streamline that process by placing call information, transcripts, and protocol checks in one place and flagging calls that need review. This supports more timely feedback, strengthens training, and helps the Center maintain consistent service standards during a period of sustained staffing pressure.
5. Expand Language Access and Support DOJ MOA Obligations
The City has continuing language access obligations, including requirements under the City’s Department of Justice Memorandum of Agreement (MOA).
Dispatch is often the first point of contact for residents who are limited-English proficient, and delays or misunderstandings can have direct public safety consequences. Prepared’s real-time translation and transcription tools support Dispatch Center responsibilities described in the Department’s Language Access Plan (LAP) (Section 4.6) and assist with the initial identification of limited-English proficient callers described in the LAP (Section 5.1). This implementation is also consistent with the LAP’s focus on applying emerging technology to improve timely, meaningful language access during police services and emergency communications.
Prepared offers real-time translation tools intended to reduce reliance on third- party interpretation services and improve speed and clarity for limited-English proficient callers. Based on information provided by Prepared for Antioch, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), and Punjabi/Hindi are available across voice translation, caller voice translation, and two-way SMS, while Tagalog, Arabic, Dari/Pashto, and Farsi are available via two-way SMS translation.
Addressing Public Concerns About AI
Staff recognizes that residents may have concerns about the use of artificial intelligence in government, including potential bias and prior negative experiences with automated call systems in private industry. The proposed implementation is designed to bepractical and bounded:
- The system is intended to manage eligible non-emergency workflows and assist with transcription, translation, and documentation. Dispatchers retain responsibility for prioritization, dispatch decisions, and emergency coordination.
- Callers maintain access to an operator, including escalation and transfer when needed.
- Automated QA and transcripts support greater transparency and reviewability, allowing supervisors to audit performance, address issues early, and improve consistency.
- The Department will implement the system with local configuration controls, clear escalation rules, and supervisory monitoring to ensure the system improves service delivery without creating barriers to access.
SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION
This procurement is requested as a sole source because the goods and services required to meet the Police Department Dispatch Center’s needs are only available from Prepared. The Prepared platform provides a unique combination of capabilities in a single system, including automated call transcription and translation (including multilingual audio and SMS), real-time call summaries, configurable keyword alerts, automated quality assurance, advanced location data consolidation (including handset and caller-spoken location), and the ability to receive and retain caller-submitted multimedia, including livestream video. Most importantly, Prepared is uniquely positioned to satisfy the City’s operational requirement for integration with the Axon ecosystem, which the Police Department relies on for body-worn camera and digital evidence management.
Because these capabilities—particularly the Axon ecosystem integration and the platform’s integrated call taking, documentation, language access, and QA features—are uniquely available through Axon/Prepared, staff recommends approval of this sole source procurement consistent with City purchasing policies.
If you go:
Antioch City Council Meeting
Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Time: 4:00 P.M. – Closed Session
5:30 P.M. – Special Meeting/Study Session
7:00 P.M. – Regular Meeting
Place: Council Chambers
200 ‘H’ Street, Antioch, CA 94509
Antioch City Council Agenda: Click here
