Language barriers can deter citizens from reporting crime in diverse policing areas. A recent ‘Contact & Confidence’ report found that a multilingual chat solution encouraged crime reporting, disclosure and information provision from citizens who would not traditionally engage with the local constabulary.
With the support of a multiple languages chat solution, local police and public sector organisations can benefit from a 24/7 accessible AI supported chat service that communicates with citizens in their chosen language.
This article will share how a multilingual chat provider can foster enhanced citizen engagement and trust in diverse areas.
How A Multilingual Chat Solution Can Improve Citizen Engagement
A multilingual, policing specific chat service can instantly translate and deliver responses in a citizen’s preferred language, whether through automated chatbot responses or through live chat with an agent. Removing language barriers allows policing organisations to build authentic and meaningful connections with citizens and supporting growing engagement with the public.
Fostering Community Trust
The Baroness Casey Review highlighted that over 50% of the public were not confident in the Metropolitan Police’s ability to respond to non-emergency calls. Multilingual chat services (including chatbot and live chat) have the ability to instantly translate a citizen’s message in over 120 languages. This in turn helps to reduce the wait times for reported crimes by triaging responses and removing the need for translators at first point of contact, thus facilitating quicker response times.
Customers using Futr AI’s services reported a 30% reduction in calls and up to 50% improvement in end-user satisfaction. A multilingual chat provider can demonstrate to citizens that the police take all requests seriously, regardless of language barriers, fostering greater public trust over time.
Richer Crime Reporting
Futr AI’s integrations allow policing chat services to be linked directly to existing police infrastructure. Inbound crime reports can be categorised and imported into crime & control or digital evidence management systems via APIs to enable seamless workflows and richer data insights.
Multilingual chat can help to translate a broader spectrum of citizen reports and capture a more accurate picture of crime in diverse policing areas. Obtaining data from diverse communities can help local constabularies build up a complete picture of crime statistics in their area.
The recent ‘Contact and Confidence in a Digital Age’ report shed light on a crucial insight: negative contact experiences can have a more significant impact on shaping public opinion than positive interactions. This revelation highlights the pressing need for innovative solutions in crime reporting that go beyond traditional communication barriers. Accessing multi-lingual chat solutions becomes imperative to facilitate effective communication between the policing sector and diverse communities. By bridging language gaps and enhancing accessibility, these solutions not only enable efficient reporting of crimes but also foster trust and confidence among people from various linguistic backgrounds.
“ i.e., negative contact experiences are a little more likely to damage general opinions than positive experiences are to improve them.”
The Police Foundations – Contact and Confidence in a Digital Age Report
Increasing Engagement with Vulnerable Individuals
The Crime Survey for England and Wales revealed that citizens reported only one in five crimes to the police. The ‘Contact & Confidence’ report also highlighted that text-based digital contact channels received interaction from members of the public who do not traditionally interact with the police. This may be because digital policing channels can help vulnerable individuals feel anonymous and, therefore, more secure when reporting incidents.
Usage of Futr AI’s live chat functionality at Suffolk Constabulary showed that online chat provisions enabled them to reach their goal of helping more domestic abuse victims. Suffolk Constabulary aimed to reassure anxious victims by ensuring they knew they were speaking to a police officer, even in their native language. In addition to multilingual chat, Futr were able to implement additional custom features to protect safety and privacy, such as fading text for privacy, a clear initial message, and a quick exit button, which further helped to build trust.
Improving Disclosure & Information Provision
A multilingual chat provider can allow local constabularies to reach a broader audience when disclosing relevant information to the public. A key recommendation of the ‘Contact & Confidence’ report was to leverage digital contact channels to remove barriers to disclosure and citizen engagement.
“Recommendation 2
Police forces should seek to improve public contact experiences, trust, and confidence, by developing and adopting technologically enabled processes and capabilities, (initially) in line with the six promising mechanisms set out above. All innovations should be based on an explicit theory of change and subject to appropriate evaluation and review.”
The Police Foundations – Contact and Confidence in a Digital Age Report
Enable a broader community engagement with the police by ensuring all citizens in diverse policing areas can access information. Removing barriers to disclosure with a multilingual chat service will ensure that all citizens can comprehend and respond to information released by the police.
Enhance Citizen Engagement in Diverse Areas with Futr AI
Futr AI has worked with the police to develop solutions for over five years and has helped reduce wait times by over 25%. Enhance citizen engagement in diverse areas with our multilingual service provision, which allows for queries to be translated and responded to in 120+ languages.
With our support, you can foster trust in the local community by:
- Translating citizen feedback across multiple languages
- Allowing for richer data capture across a broader spectrum of citizens
- Reducing wait times with instant translation and responses
- Enabling better citizen access to information provision and disclosures
- Build trust with citizens by harnessing natural language
Contact our team today to learn more about how Futr AI can improve policing in your local area.
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