Chatbot Wout

Police

Based on the text entered by the user, the algorithm recognises what question or request the user has. Once this topic is recognised, a conversation starts. Conversations in the chatbot fall under so-called 'conversational AI'. It is therefore not generative AI, like ChatGPT.

Last change on 31st of January 2025, at 13:24 (CET) | Publication Standard 1.0

• Publication category: Other algorithms
• Impact assessment: DPIA
• Status: In use

General information

Theme

Public Order and Safety

Begin date

2022-02

Contact information

https://www.politie.nl/

Link to publication website

https://www.politie.nl/onderwerpen/wout.html

Responsible use

Goal and impact

The aim of chatbot Wout is to make police services more accessible, user-friendly and less labour-intensive. Chatbot Wout can be found at www.politie.nl. Use of the chatbot is voluntary. For people who do not find this a convenient channel, the police will remain accessible in other ways. Use of the chatbot is anonymous.

Considerations

Chatbot Wout complements the police's already existing contact options. Its use is voluntary and several alternatives are available. For users, Wout brings no disadvantages. For the organisation, Wout offers benefits, such as a more efficient use of our staff. This is because Wout handles almost 80% of requests independently. Experience shows that the chatbot puts us in touch with a target group that otherwise would not have contacted us. This allows us to help more people while strengthening our information position.

Human intervention

The interviews in Wout have been written by people and checked by experts. As a result, the quality of the content is high. Depending on the topic, the user is transferred directly to a live chat with a Regional Service Centre (RSC) employee. For sensitive topics, the model recognises only the topic, and the user is immediately connected to an employee. Training the model is done manually and is entirely human.

Risk management

Call quality is constantly monitored by improving training data and collecting feedback. Technically, Wout was built under police architecture principles. With this, it meets all set requirements. For this, a CIO approval has been issued, a GEB has been drawn up and periodic audits are done.

Impact assessment

Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA)

Operations

Data

The algorithm uses only the user's entered text.

Technical design

Based on user input, words are recognised. By matching these words, the model identifies the user's needs. When the model has sufficient certainty, a pre-written conversation is offered to the user. This can lead to (1) an answer to the customer query, (2) the recording of a report which is then routed to the RSC, or (3) a live chat with a staff member at the RSC for more precarious issues.

External provider

Chatlayer / Sinch