It's taking longer for Dallas police officers to respond to calls because there aren't enough of them.
Emergency calls for police are ranked from 1 to 4 based on severity, with P1 being the most serious and P4 being non-critical.
When The Dallas Express last reviewed On April 19, 2024, the average Dallas police response times were:
- P1 – 10 minutes
- P2 – 74 minutes
- P3 – 205 minutes
- P4 – 230 minutes
As of May 11, the City of Dallas reports that: dashboardP1 calls now take an average of 10.2 minutes. P2 calls take around 77.3 minutes. P3 calls are seeing a 218-minute response time, and P4 calls have an average wait of 247.8 minutes.
Despite the city's claim that Dallas needs around 4,000 officers, they currently only have about 3,000. analysis The city says around 4,000 officers are needed to improve response times and maintain public safety.
Police staffing issues in Dallas seem to be affecting the downtown area, which has higher crime rates compared to Fort Worth's downtown area. logs Fort Worth's downtown area has a dedicated police unit and private security, resulting in lower crime rates. reportedly Although the response times for high-priority calls have not increased much, P3 and P4 calls have seen significant increases of 6.3% and 7.7%, respectively.
Despite allocating only $654 million for DPD this fiscal year, Dallas City officials have chosen to invest less in public safety compared to high-crime cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.
Budgeting Dallas has invested considerably less in public safety compared to other high-crime cities. spend It's taking longer for Dallas police officers to respond to calls because there aren't enough of them.
