Detroit 911: Thousands in crisis left waiting for Detroit police

**313WX** · February-24-19, 05:52 PM

https://www.wxyz.com/news/local-news...detroit-police

"DETROIT [[WXYZ) — They hid in bedrooms, cowered behind doors and ran down city streets. Some lived in Detroit for only a few years, others their entire lives. But all of them were waiting for police.

At a time when the city touts the fastest response time to 911 calls in well more than a decade — 12 minutes for priority one calls — thousands of the most urgent calls to police each year still leave victims waiting 30 minutes or more for help. Hundreds wait longer than an hour.

A 7 Action News investigation reveals that, over a 20-month period, 650 priority one calls took more than 60 minutes to receive a response. The calls include reports of active shootings, rapes in progress, felonious assaults, armed robberies, armed attacks from the mentally ill and suicides in progress

More than 18,000 priority two calls, which are less urgent but sometimes just as serious as priority one, took 60 minutes or longer to receive a response last year, according to department data..."

**313WX** · February-24-19, 05:54 PM

Ah, so this is how the DPD has effectively distorted its response time numbers...

"Shortly after being hired in May 2013, Detroit Police Chief James Craig reclassified what was and wasn’t considered a priority one crime, greatly reducing the pool of the most urgent calls and making it easier for officers to respond more quickly. Combined with the department’s efforts to hire more officers, response times quickly began to fall."

**313WX** · February-24-19, 06:09 PM

"Today, the number of officers patrolling the streets sits at 1,503, according to DPD, a dramatic fall from 1,758 officers in 2012."

**313WX** · February-24-19, 06:12 PM

"In 2017, 1,748 priority one calls took more than 30 minutes to receive a response, according to city's data portal posted online. By 2018, that number swelled to 2,994 — an increase of more than 70 percent...

From January 2017 through September 2018, records reviewed by 7 Action News show 650 priority one calls took at least 60 minutes to receive a response from police. The most common reason for a delay: no units available.

The calls include 185 reports of felonious assaults in progress, 20 cases of child abuse, 35 reports of active shootings, 11 reports of armed robbery, seven calls of suicide in progress and five reports of rape in progress..."

**Meddle** · February-24-19, 06:42 PM

Stats are always a numbers game. Who gathers the data determines the outcome.

Reclassification is only one aspect.

**O3H** · February-24-19, 08:48 PM

It's all about what you want/desire to put in which pile

http://www.deadlinedetroit.com/artic...11_calls_spike

**night-timer** · February-24-19, 10:28 PM

Who's to blame?

**Meddle** · February-25-19, 02:08 AM

Originally Posted by night-timer

Who's to blame?

The dirtbags fighting and shooting and breaking into people's houses and buildings.

If they would just stop these 'stats' would drop without being manipulated.

**hhockey** · February-27-19, 02:20 PM

The obvious answer is to have more police officers. Its nice to do a story, and chastise the department, but would also be nice if they had a solution to their story. The DPD has been overwhelmed for many years, and the only way to solve that problem is more man power. I know that the officers on the street are handling more calls than they can possibly handle.