Virginia Beach

The city is using a tool with artificial intelligence to respond to more than 40 percent of its nonemergency interactions — freeing public safety dispatchers from over 900 hours of talk time to focus on real emergency calls.

The Destination Box, called DBX, is a gray storage locker about the size of a parking space and a few feet taller than a person. On top of each box is a large netted area where drones drop off packages.

The technological improvements the department has made include adding a gunshot detection system that alerts dispatchers when shots are fired and adding more surveillance cameras to high-crime areas.