Kitsap County, Washington, which has never had a non-emergency contact option, deploys Ava to give residents a new way to access routine public safety services
KITSAP COUNTY, WA – 5/18/2026
Kitsap 911 and Aurelian, the technology platform built exclusively for emergency communications centers (ECCs), today announced that Kitsap 911 has deployed Ava, Aurelian's virtual assistant, on a new dedicated non-emergency line for Kitsap County. The public can now call 360-328-7711 for routine, non-emergency public safety matters. The deployment marks the first time the county's approximately 278,000 residents have a dedicated non-emergency contact option.
Located on the Kitsap Peninsula across Puget Sound from Seattle, Kitsap County is home to Bremerton, Silverdale, Port Orchard, and surrounding communities that rely on Kitsap 911 for all emergency communications. Previously, all calls routed directly to 911 regardless of urgency, from true emergencies to routine matters such as noise complaints. The new non-emergency line powered by Ava provides residents with a direct channel for routine requests while giving telecommunicators greater capacity to focus on critical calls.
Alongside the technology deployment, Kitsap 911 has launched a community education initiative to help residents understand the new non-emergency line and when to use it. The rollout represents both a new service and a shift in behavior, giving people a faster, more convenient way to access help for routine matters while preserving 911 for emergencies.
The non-emergency line should be used for situations that do not require an immediate police, fire, or medical response, including noise complaints, parking concerns, suspicious circumstances, abandoned vehicles, crimes that are not currently in progress, or incidents that occurred earlier and are being reported after the fact, such as thefts, vandalism, or property damage. Residents can also use the line for general information and community resources. Emergencies or situations involving an immediate threat to life, safety, or property should still be reported to 911.
Ava answers non-emergency calls instantly with zero-second hold times and natural language support in over 35 languages. The virtual assistant collects relevant information through conversation, creates calls for service when police response is needed, routes callers to the appropriate department, or texts them resources. Ava continuously monitors every interaction for signs of an emergency, and if one is detected, the caller is instantly transferred to a human telecommunicator.
"The technology is the easy part. The real work is helping an entire county learn that there's a better way to get help for the things that aren't emergencies," said Max Keenan, CEO and founder of Aurelian. "When you get the education piece right, 911 gets stronger because every call that comes in is a call that actually needs to be there."
Kitsap 911's initiative addresses a nationwide challenge: an estimated 60 to 80 percent of calls to 911 centers are non-emergent, and those calls take 50 percent longer to process than true emergencies. A dedicated non-emergency option ensures that highly trained telecommunicators can devote their expertise to the calls that demand it. Across its partner agencies, Aurelian automates an average of 70 percent of non-emergency calls.
Aurelian is already live at agencies across Washington State, currently serving approximately 35 percent of the state's emergency communications centers. Kitsap 911 joins a growing network of Washington agencies using the platform to modernize how residents access non emergency public safety services.
"This gives our community something we've needed for a long time, a fast, easy way to reach us for routine matters in any language, at any time of day," said Maria Jameson-Owens, Executive Director of Kitsap 911. “It also helps our telecommunicators dedicate more attention to urgent emergency calls, while giving dispatchers greater ability to concentrate on critical radio communications and supporting first responders in the field.”
About Aurelian
Aurelian is a technology platform built for public safety. By automating non emergency calls, Aurelian gives back hours each shift to telecommunicators, reduces burnout, and ensures communities get faster service. Headquartered in Seattle, Aurelian supports emergency communications centers across the U.S. and integrates with all major Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and phone systems. For more information, visit aurelian.com.
MEDIA CONTACT: Helen Cho Bonfire Partners press@bonfirepartners.io