It seems like Mayors and Police Chief's etc... like to publish fast response times.
I know that there are probably many variables that affect this time. It seems to me the more variables, the less confidence I have in the their #s. Maybe if they backed it up with some more data.
I remain dubious about relying on such things for important matters.
I was a volunteer fireman for lots of years, and we used to get criticized for our response times regularly. Since our times were recorded on radio logs according to the town's dispatcher's clock we could usually disprove the most outrageous claims.
That said:
I listen to a scanner pretty regularly and one of the things I note quite often is units signing out "in the area" when dispatched, and personal observation is that just as frequently the unit signing out "in the area" may take a minute or two before actually arriving. Of course this could be accounted for by the unit actually approaching the scene with some level of caution, or observing the area, or any number of other factors, but it would also tend to skew response time to shorter.
That said:
Time dilation under stress is an established observed condition - when you're waiting for the cops/FD/EMT, or even the dog warden (as we did Saturday) the wait can seem interminable, but actually be relatively short.
That said:
Even a 3 minute response time is way too long for someone to wait if that person is being assaulted.
I'm actually not too concerned with any Law Enforcement response time...Not that I would at all be critical of any time that it takes for them to respond to my call for assistance...
I'm more inclined to be concerned and critical of my own personal response time...
That is something I work on constantly...
"Perseverance and Preparedness triumph over Procrastination and Paranoia every time.” -- Steve
NRA - Life Member
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"
Μολών λαβέ!
Response time is a statistic, and like any other statistic, it can be played with the say what you want it to say.
Some departments count the response time as the time from when the officer acknowledges the call to the point he says he arrived on the scene. Others include the time from when the call was first received by the dispatcher. Incidentally, the time from received until dispatched is called hang time in most departments.
Some departments break down the average time by the type of call, and some use the average of all calls. Some don't use average but the 85% rate (85% of the calls are handled within this time).
Whenever you hear someone (Chief or PIO) stating a response time, make sure you pin him down on exactly what he is talking about so you can compare the figures properly. And always remember that the only response time that counts is the one when you call and need help. That won't be in the figures.
srothstein is dead on about nailing down the definition of response time, especially if you doing analysis or comparisons. If you really want to get a handle on it, ask also for all dropped calls and the reasons they are dropped. Sometimes it is because people hang up on their own, but it can also be that the caller was on hold for so long, he/she got tired of waiting (or couldn't wait) until a dispatcher could handle the call.
A lawsuit in Chicago a couple years ago about responses to fire revealed that there were a huge number of these types of calls -- seemed like it was 20% or more. The lawyer involved put them on his website, and Chicago counter-sued him to remove them, claiming it gave potential terrorists too much info. I have my doubts that was the real reason.
I am satisfied with the response time (statistics) and handling of situations in our part of Houston...
I also support any additions to the police force, annual raises, and additional equipment for police and fire/ems personnel...
Anytime we, and our elected officials can keep the "hill" (problems/issues) from getting any higher for these folks the better...
Just my opinion...
"Perseverance and Preparedness triumph over Procrastination and Paranoia every time.” -- Steve
NRA - Life Member
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"
Μολών λαβέ!
TxFire wrote:I will agree that response times need to be nailed down as to what the start and stop time is. It is real easy to skew these numbers.
Don't forget they can be skewed the other way by non-time-sensitive calls; I don't care how long it takes them to drop by and take a report on something that's over by the time it's reported, when the RP just wants it investigated and documented for insurance or other purposes.
I've had those calls take hours to get handled, in place where three minutes is a fairly accurate estimate of time-critical call response time, IME. Probably even a bit long, since the most serious code-3 responses often result in at least one officer on scene within a minute of dispatch giving the location.
