PUBLIC RELATIONS UNIT

October 6, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact Information: PolicePRUnit@slcgov.com

SLCPD Releases Response Times for September 2022

SALT LAKE CITY — Today, the Salt Lake City Police Department released response times for September 2022, which showed the department’s overall average response time improved 33 minutes and 28 seconds when compared to September 2021.

Response times to calls for service is a metric the Salt Lake City Police Department is constantly striving to improve. Faster response times to calls for service can lead to increased crime clearance rates, probability of suspect apprehension and public safety.

Response times vary across the country and are dependent on many complex factors that are distinctive to each jurisdiction.

“Our officers are getting to calls for service as quickly and as safely as possible,” said Chief Mike Brown. “Each month, we look at our response times and try to find ways to be faster and more efficient. As a police department, that’s our commitment and duty to our community. I’m proud of the hard work our officers have done to lower response times. The demands and expectations put on them are enormous and yet they meet and overcome those challenges every day.”

In September 2022, the average response times were as follows (formatted as MM:SS):

Priority 1 – 10:24 an improvement of 03:50 from September 2021

Priority 2 – 15:38, an improvement of 08:35 from September 2021

Priority 3 – 42:10, an improvement of 58:27 from September 2021

The combined overall average response time, which includes all priority 1-3, for September 2022 was 29:08, an improvement of 33:28.

The department continues working with SLC911 and other criminal justice stakeholders to expand call diversion and online reporting.

In November 2021, SLCPD Chief Mike Brown and Mayor Erin Mendenhall released an update to the 2021 Crime Control Plan to lower crime, improve response times, fill authorized staffing levels for sworn positions and to continue building community relationships.

The strategies outlined in the Revised Crime Control Plan include expanding recruitment and hiring efforts, developing a violent criminal apprehension team, implementing the civilian response team, expanding the department’s call diversion program and its online reporting capabilities.

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