311 call systems were introduced as a way to alleviate some of the workload of 911 call centers. It is supposed to be used for nonemergency calls, and emergency calls are to go through the traditional 911 call system. Research shows that the 311 call system did reduce the number of calls to 911, but did not reduce the overall number of calls to police, it simply shifted a large number of calls from one number to another. They all still had to be answered and handled. As such, the 311 system does not appear to have reduced police workload.