PUBLIC RELATIONS UNIT

March 6, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact Information: PolicePRUnit@slcgov.com

SLCPD Releases Response Times for February 2023

SALT LAKE CITY — Today, the Salt Lake City Police Department released its response times for February 2023, which showed the department’s overall average response time improved 6 minutes and 10 seconds when compared to February 2022.

Response times to calls for service is a metric the Salt Lake City Police Department is constantly striving to improve.

A police department’s response time can be calculated two ways – the cumulative response time and the actual drive-time response after the first available officer is dispatched to a scene. The cumulative response time includes the time a person spends on the phone with 9-1-1, call processing time, dispatch time and an officer’s drive to the scene.

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

In February 2023, the average response times were as follows (formatted as MM:SS):

•            Priority 1 – 08:44, an improvement of 01:41 from February 2022.

•            Priority 2 – 13:05, an improvement of 03:42 from February 2022.

•            Priority 3 – 29:48, an improvement of 07:30 from February 2022.

The combined overall average response time, which includes all Priority 1-3 responses, for February 2023 was 21:12, an improvement of 06:10 from February 2022.

As previously stated, the Salt Lake City Police Department anticipates response times to vary as its mandatory overtime patrol shifts have ended and overtime patrol shifts are now filled on a voluntary basis.

Overall response times have dropped to 2019 levels despite staffing challenges and a significant increase in calls for service. As of March 1, 2023, the Salt Lake City Police Department has 38 vacant positions for police officers.

Operationally, the Salt Lake City Police Department is down 23%, which includes the 38 vacant positions, number of officers currently in training and officers on some sort of leave, including military and family leave. The Salt Lake City Police Department continues to work with the Mayor and City Council to expand recruitment, retention and increase its authorized staffing level.

The Salt Lake City Police Department is also working with SLC911 and other criminal justice stakeholders to expand call diversion and online reporting.

The Salt Lake City Police Department is a transparent law enforcement agency. On the Salt Lake City Police Department’s website, the department provides monthly updates to the cumulative response time.

In October 2022, SLCPD Chief Mike Brown and Mayor Erin Mendenhall released an update to the SLCPD 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 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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